


What does love taste like?

by Kaya4114



Category: Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: Blindfolds, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Food, M/M, Might be a long one, Mutual Pining, Podfic Welcome, When I finish it, writing promp responce
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2019-10-18 12:23:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17580776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaya4114/pseuds/Kaya4114
Summary: "All these analogies and comparisons you both use to describe food," Ryan said with an amused smirk, "I'm betting that you couldn't do it if you had no idea what it was you were tasting."With that, a bet was made and a trip to New York was taken.  With a painful past, Andrew comes to terms with a few things of his own.   He knows the different tastes like he knows his own name.  Will he and Steven come to learn the taste of defeat?  Or will they learn that sometimes life can be sweeter than they thought?Response to a writing prompt:" Have them do a blindfolded taste test that ends with one of them kissing the other blindfolded person and asking “What does this taste like to you?”





	1. prologue: The challenge

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. So I revamped this whole fic. Big thanks to LightningRidgeBlackOpal for betaing it and overall making me a better writer <33333 
> 
> She is also here on AO3 and I HIGHLY recommend that if you haven't read her work please go do that. 
> 
> This was the first fic I wrote in the Standrew/Shyan fandom and is my second longest fic I have written for them. It's going to be a lighthearted (for the most part) fic with lots of pining and fun. I hope you all enjoy!

It started off as a dare.  Entirely innocent. A harmless challenge; meant for a little fun and nothing more.

"All these analogies and comparisons you both use to describe food," Ryan goaded with an amused smirk, "I'm betting that you couldn't do it if you had no idea what it was you were tasting."

Andrew had no idea how any of this had come about.   It was just the usual banter between colleagues. Everyone around the table were talking and enjoying the spread laid out for them, despite the cameras recording the whole grand event. The Worth It holiday special had officially wrapped up the rest of the season, and now that the cameras were off the drinks and partying were alive in full swing.   Shane chuckled lightly before taking another sip of Kwesi's Punch du'Creme, as he watched the exchange quietly with a sly smile.  

Andrew laughed at the statement and looked at Ryan with the same challenging glare that was leveled his way.  He and Steven had been discussing their thoughts with him about the year and their respective shows, while Adam was quietly munching away not very far from them all.  Shane was pounding back liquid-- most likely in an attempt to quell the burning on his tongue. Andrew answered with a snicker, "you're just mad because your nose is still burning internally from that wasabi croquembouche and now you can't taste anything."   

Steven nodded in agreement, "I'll have you know, Andrew and I both have very refined palates, Ryan. The whole  _ point _ of the show is to taste food.  It's not just about knowing what you're eating.  It's about experiencing it though  _ all  _ your senses."  He tossed another cream puff into his mouth to punctuate his point.  Andrew silently chuckled with mirth as Ryan rolled his eyes and said, smiling, "if that had wasabi in it, you would be singing a different tune."

He smirked at them in provocation, taking a sip of his own creamy rum drink as the gears began turning and an idea popped into his head.   Steven opened his mouth to reply but it was cut short.

"I challenge you guys then,"  Ryan continued, "fifty bucks says you guys can't correctly guess the intricacies of three different foods, at three vastly different price points.. _ blindfolded. _ You have to be able to tell how expensive it is... AND name at least three things in each dish that separate them from the other ones you taste."

Steven’s eyes flashed in amused defiance.  Andrew shook his head with a laugh and glanced over at Steven before turning his attention back to Ryan.  Shane seemed to be listening intently as a slow grin tugged the corner of his lips. Andrew replied, “deal.  Is that fifty bucks for each of us, or fifty bucks split?"

Shane, who had been quietly drinking his punch this whole time finally opened his mouth to answer for Ryan, wanting in on this little game, "fifty for you both if you win.  But fifty for Ryan and myself if you lose."

"What about me?" Adam piped in suddenly, "I can film it if I get a cut of the pool."

Andrew's attention turned to the typically quiet cameraman.   Adam had been listening in this whole time, and the expression on his face was amused.  There was a brief pause as the five of them considered it.

"You know.. this could be a neat idea for the show..." Steven said thoughtfully, "I have to head back to New York in a few days, but we can set up the details for it."

New York.

At the mention of it, a small frown pulled at the corners of Andrew's mouth.  It was only momentary but shaken off seconds later, replaced by the earlier challenging smile.  

The idea of a blindfolded Worth It episode seemed interesting to him.  It would test his ability to pick out flavours, make for a fun video because of the added challenge, and he was confident Steven and himself would each be walking out of this with fifty dollars to boot.  The only real snag was that his friend had to return to New York soon and that basically limited their options on places they could go to do this. Still, it seemed like a fun idea.  

Andrew shrugged internally as the others bantered back and forth about who would win.  There was a brief talk about chilis and spicy things when Ryan quipped about Shane's inability to handle spicy food and the two of them started arguing with each other as usual.   Steven was laughing. A few ‘fuck you’s were exchanged, but it was all lighthearted. Everyone was grinning. 

Eventually a loose plan was made, an agreement for emails to be sent out to the five of them about where and when to meet up, and with that the party continued.

Through the course of the evening, the reminder echoed about in Andrew’s mind.  Steven was returning to New York again in a couple days. That meant that they would be spending New Years without him this year.  Andrew frowned into his drink. It wasn't like this information was new. He had been out of the state for a while now, and it's not like they never saw one another...  Or that he missed him... It's just that planning episodes for Worth It became a lot more difficult these past months without his boisterous personality in the office. The way he would practically vibrate when he got a really great idea.   His boundless energy seemed to get the whole team fired up, and without him actually present things seemed to just… drag on.

The walls in Steven's LA apartment seemed a lot more bare since he moved as well, and before the two of them set up the faerie lights and other various Christmas decorations, the house seemed very empty and obviously not lived in. That felt wrong to Andrew somehow.  It's not that it bothered him. It wasn't that he missed Steven. It was just... different.  

Eventually, the crowd began to trickle out as the hours of the evening dragged on.  Andrew tamped down the negative thoughts, enjoyed himself and the company around him; eventually said goodbye to co-workers as they left one by one.  Soon enough, it was just Adam, Steven and him left to clean up the spare apartment. It was late.

Adam finished up his last plate of food, smiling at the camera as it recorded the final shots for their three part holiday special.  Meanwhile, Andrew and Steven cleaned the dishes and put away spare food.

Ever since Steven moved to New York it seemed like time slowed down while he was away, and sped up when they were shooting content.  Andrew didn’t mind of course. It was just... not the same. It seemed to go too fast.

Steven, dish towel in hand, broke the companionable silence, "blindfolded Worth It hmm..."

Andrew cast him a sidelong glance, then grabbed another dish to run under the water and scrub down. "It seems like an interesting concept," Andrew supplied, "how do you think those two are going to plan it though? It's not like they have much time... You have to return to New York on Tuesday and I don't think Ryan and Shane intend to give us something local, considering we’ve eaten at pretty much every restaurant in the area."

Steven turned to him with an ebullient smile.  His jubilant personality always seemed to catch Andrew off guard, and this time was no exception. "Then you guys will just have to come to New York!" he exclaimed.

He said it like it was just the easiest solution in the world.

"Come to New York?" Andrew repeated, his hand stilled, soap all over the plate. Steven beamed and nodded.

Andrew thought about it. They just finished the holiday episode today and they still had all of the editing to do as well as preparation for the next season and all of the meetings for the next Tasty video and other various projects on top of that. How would he find the time to just...  _ fly to New York?  _  Especially so last minute?

"I don’t know, Steven.  This is really short notice.  Not to mention plane tickets are really expensive during the holiday season.  That plus hotel fairs-- is it really worth it for just fifty bucks?" He turned back to the cupboard and placed a now dry plate back where it belonged.

Steven just waved his hand dismissively at him. “It'll be  _ fiiiine _ .  I'll talk to the higher ups; explain that it's for the next season of Worth It. Our fans have been wanting an Unsolved crossover with us for practically forever.  I mean, this isn't exactly the creepy territory Shane and Ryan usually cover, sure, but it's not like _ we _ know what it is we are going to eat this time.  I'm sure I can get Buzzfeed to pay for it." Steven had a joyful lilt in his voice.

Andrew hesitated, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a coherent sentence. "Steven! I really-"

"Yeah, no I get it, you have family to attend to and I mean who wants to spend a holiday with a colleague, right?"

Andrew brought his hand up to tug at his hair, getting a little soap on himself as the thoughts jumbled around.  The plane tickets, hotel fairs- New York wasn't easy on your pocket. He tried to ignore the slight sting that came from hearing Steven call himself a mere colleague of his. He was more than that.  _ They _ were more than that.

It was really not the best decision, as far as decisions go. It was very last minute; like a late Christmas gift hastily wrapped with cheap wrapping paper and tape.  Still.. If Steven was sure they could pull this off--

Before Andrew could finish the thought, Adam came in with his now empty plate.

"I just think it's going to be hilarious to watch you two try to food cheers with blindfolds on. Try not to wear white for the shoot, ok?" he said with a chuckle, "it's going to be great-- I get to just sit back and film you both while Ryan and Shane inevitably find something to bicker about."

He approached both Andrew and Steven to place his dirty plate on the pile of dirty dishware. He then picked up a spare dish towel to help Steven dry.

Once more, the room fell into a comfortable silence as the three of them continued to wash up; Andrews concerns dismissed.  _ The scene was almost domestic _ , Andrew thought to himself absentmindedly as he handed off a bowl to Steven who proceeded to dry it and place it in the cupboard. It was a shame the place was empty three weeks of every month.

One by one the dishes were cleaned and put away, save for three wine glasses sitting on the island.  Andrew fished a bottle of Chardonnay out of the fridge while Adam grabbed them and brought them to the counter.  Soon enough, the three glasses were filled and they all found themselves sitting on the couch watching Netflix on Steven's laptop.

The light in the room flickered from the screen as the show was playing, but Andrew had trouble concentrating.  He didn't even register what movie they chose. His mind was too busy swirling with thoughts of New York. It had been a long time since he was in the area, and even longer since he spent New Years Eve watching the ball drop in Time Square.   Now  _ that _ was a thought he didn't really want to remember...

The last New Year he spent at Time Square, he and his girlfriend had...

No. He wasn't going to think about that.  Andrew pulled his mind back to the present with a frown.  Steven was saying something to him.

"--at my place."

Adam nodded to Steven before the two of them looked over at him expectantly.  Andrew could feel heat rising to his cheeks. He didn't mean to zone out. Especially not where his train of thought took him.  He opened his mouth to reply, sheepishly, "I'm sorry guys.. I kind of spaced out there for a moment. What were you saying?"

The corners of Steven's lips pulled a small frown of his own as he sighed.  "Well if you don't want to, I completely understand Drew, but I figured it would save us money.  I know a lot of apartments in New York City are small but It's not like we'd be sharing the same bed or anything… That is, if you’re even on board with all this..."  Steven looked away towards his laptop as he spoke, openly disappointed. Although he tried to hide it, Andrew could hear the rejection in his voice. There was a pause before he continued. 

"My loft has a pull out couch one of us could use, and I have a spare room that I use as my personal office.   It has a futon that can pull down so I don't have to move my computer to the living room when I want to watch movies." Finally, Steven met Andrews gaze again, his expression complete honesty. "Look.  I’m sorry to be pushing this. But like… It's Christmas, and to be quite frank.. It can get kind of lonely in NYC. I'm just saying I wouldn't mind having my best friends around for a couple weeks, even if Buzzfeed wont cover the whole trip."

Understanding dawned on him and Andrew smiled warmly.  Perhaps he could make it work. "No Steven, I agree that staying at your place is a good option.  I didn't mean to zone out, there. I'm sorry...just starting to get a little tired from today's events, I think.  It might be time for me to call an Uber and crash for the night."

"I think I might do the same,"  Adam added with a small yawn.

Steven's frown remained momentarily before Andrew added, “...But I really do think that this is a good idea.  Besides! We can’t let Ryan and Shane insult our name like that. That fifty bucks is as good as ours!”   
  
At his words, the frown on Steven’s face suddenly melted into a smile, clearly happy to be spending the holidays with his friends. It was a crazy idea, he probably shouldn't have agreed to this, but the warm joy on his best friends face made the details matter seem minor in the grand scheme of things. 

The three of them packed up as Andrew called an Uber for himself and Adam.  He then downed the last of his wine, and set the glass gently on the end table by the couch.  Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. God knows he could use a vacation and a change of scenery.  Plus, this meant he got to spend more time with Steven. He smiled at the thought. Not because he missed him, of course. Just because things would resemble some semblance of normal for a little while longer. That's all.

Too soon, the Uber arrived and it was time to head out.  Steven rose to his feet to show his friends to the door.

"I'll send you a text tomorrow," he said, the large beaming smile from earlier returning to his features. "Either way, this is going to be an amazing New Year."

"Have a good night Steven!"  Adam said with a wave before climbing into the vehicle.   Andrew slowly followed him, but turned and smiled back at his exuberant friend warmly.  

"BYE!"  Steven called as Andrew opened the door of the car. He turned back and held Steven's gaze for a pause, longer than necessary, before he climbed in and shut the door.

He was going to New York.  He was going to win a bet with Steven. He had holiday plans with his friends.

He was happy.

***


	2. Emails and Prep work.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after the pot luck and details of their adventure are being planned and finalized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. Again Big thanks to my Beta LightningRidgeBlackOpal. <3 Also, the places in the email Steven sends to Ryan and Shane are actually real places and these stories are actually real reports that I did not write. I will credit a link in the bottom notes where I used that information if anyone wants to read through them. Maybe dine there yourselves if you live close enough and are so inclined.

Morning came entirely too early for Andrew; the events of the prior evening replaying through his mind.

That's right… Ryan and Shane had challenged him and Steven to do a worth it video blindfolded for fifty bucks...

_ "I'll send you guys an email when Shane and I have discussed what we want to have you eat." Ryan said with a mischievous grin.  Shane nodded in agreement, then added his two cents on the matter. "Don't worry about timing. I know you have to head back to New York soon, Steven.  I'm sure me and Ry here can work something out." _

Andrew's mind continued to wander as he fixed himself a cup of coffee.  Steven would be heading back to NYC tomorrow. Perhaps said email was already sitting in his inbox at work, knowing Ryan and Shane.  As Andrew continued to recall the rest of the evening, a voice echoed clearly in his mind.

_ "Then you guys will just have to come to New York!"  Steven's face was shining with so much vivacity that Andrew could practically count the stars in his eyes.  He said this as if it was the most simple yet brilliant solution to their time issue. _

And that meant that he would have to put a few of his projects on hold, so that he could take an impromptu trip to New York City.  He took a sip of his coffee, his apprehensions floating around the back of his mind.

Steven's voice continued to echo.  _ “It'll be  _ **_fiiiine._ ** _   I'll talk to the higher ups; Explain that it's for the next season of Worth It.   Our fans have been wanting an Unsolved crossover with us for practically forever. I mean, this isn't exactly the creepy territory Shane and Ryan usually cover, sure, but it's not like we know what it is we are going to eat this time.  I'm sure I can get Buzzfeed to pay for it." _

He sighed and pulled out his phone.  There was already a text from Steven.  
  


**_From: Steven Lim - 6:45am_ **

**Good morning Andrew,  I hope you slept well.  I already took care of the plane tickets.  I CAN'T WAIT FOR NEW YEARS :D :D :D**

_ A screen shot was attached with the receipt for 3 plane tickets headed towards JFK, two of them with returns. _   


Andrew couldn't help but crack a smile. "You know.. I think this'll be fun,” he said aloud to himself. He wandered back to his bedroom, cup of coffee in hand.  He just felt so stressed lately. Being honest with himself, really, he had felt stressed for quite a while. The more the man thought about taking a trip to just .. get away.. the more he warmed up to the idea of it.  Responsibilities could be put on hold. It's not like those projects wouldn't be waiting for him when he got back.

He grabbed some fresh clothes and a towel before heading into the bathroom. He undressed and hopped into the shower, his mind continuing to go over everything.  He still had some vacation time saved, in the off chance Buzzfeed didn't agree to fund the trip, and Steven even offered up his own living space for them to crash at.  It really wasn't that impossible an idea, if he really thought about it.    


Sure, the apartment was probably going to be small, but that was fine with him if it meant that he could visit his friend. Better than Steven being alone in the city where he'd been living lately.  It wasn't very often that Steven came home to LA anymore.

That thought bothered him more than the ones he occasionally had to squish away… like whenever he happened to notice things. Like how well the shirt Steven was wearing fit to his frame, or how nice the lavender blond looked on him whenever he retouched his hair colour and dyed his roots. The mental image of his warm smile the previous night flashed through his mind bringing a hot feeling to his cheeks.   


Ok, so maybe he  _ did _ miss him.

The potluck dinner was the first semblance of 'normal' that Andrew had experienced since Steven left.  Mostly because this was the longest stay he had taken since the actual move. When he thought about it, it was just so easy to fall back into old routine.

It was nice to actually  _ see _ Steven at the office.  It was nice to actually go out to lunch with him, Adam and Annie and then walk back again to finish their shift.  The holiday episodes were the first in-person planning they did for Worth It since he left; complete with white boards, powerpoint and snacks.   


I mean... it wasn't  _ that _ different without him, really.  But without Steven actually there, it was like something was missing.  A hole in their group. It just wasn't the same. And that brought his mind back to the present.   Andrew smiled as he scrubbed himself down and cleaned up.  _ A trip to New York for the rest of the month and a bet with Shane and Ryan.  Possibly a free fifty dollars. Yeah. This is gonna be great! _

Shower finished, he stepped out and proceeded to dress and brush his teeth. Suddenly, his phone vibrated.   A text, this time from Adam.

**_From: Adam Bianchi - 7:33am_ **

**Hey.  Did Steven text you too?  Apparently he already has our plane tickets**

Andrew smiled, rolling his eyes a little, tapping out his reply as he walked to the door to put on his shoes.

**_To: Adam Bianchi - 7:34am_ **

**Yeah he did.  I'm betting he also messaged Ryan and Shane about it.  I'm about to head out to work. See you there**

He then grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

***

Ryan was sitting in the break room, Shane standing beside him with a coffee in hand.   As expected, Steven had texted them both with his plan.

**_Fwd:_ ** **_From: Steven Lim 6:48am_ **

**Hey you two.  So I had an idea about how to fix this timing issue. Since I'm leaving for NYC tomorrow, instead of doing a half assed episode with the restaurants around here (Me and Andrew have already eaten pretty much everything in the general area anyway so it wouldn't be fair on you guys) (pt1)**   
  


**_Fwd:_ ** **_From: Steven Lim 6:49am_ **

**We all last night agreed to fly back with me and do it in NYC instead.  I hope that you both are alright with that decision. We can work out the details further when I see you at work later today.(pt2)**

Ryan casually sipped at his coffee while he considered it.  It was a silly dare that he barely remembered the next day. Only when he went to check his phone, he had seen the messages and the memory returned to him.   He wasn't sure how this all would pan out. Still, the idea of a trip away for the holidays intrigued him.   


"So what do you think, big guy?  Fancy a trip to the big apple?" He looked up at his companion.   Shane unlocked his phone and reread the texts again. After a pause, he replied.

"You  _ do _ know a trip to New York is going to cost more than the fifty bucks we'll be getting out of this right?"

"Aww come on, don't be a killjoy, dude." Ryan whined back, "Maybe we can talk work into funding it somehow.  Perhaps do an investigation... There are quite a few famous haunted joints in New York. I could do a bit of last minute research."

Shane just sighed as Andrew and Adam both walked in.

***

Andrew and Adam decided it would be best for the two of them to wait in the break room for Steven.  He had already purchased the plane tickets, so he obviously had some plan going into all of this. Andrew was curious about how this was all going to play out.

"It could be interesting really," He said to Adam while opening up the door, "It's all up to head office though whether this gets greenlit or not, but I haven't had a vacation in a while and could use the change of scenery."   


Andrew noticed both Ryan and Shane already present.   He turned from Adam with a friendly smile, "Oh hey guys. I'm guessing you're waiting for Steven?"

Shane nodded in acknowledgement to the pair as Adam wandered to the coffee machine to pour himself a cup.  Andrew put his bag down and sat next to Ryan at the table. The two men shared a look at one another before Andrew turned his attention back to Adam, who was now leaning against the counter across from them.    


"Well, we will have to wait and see I guess,"  Adam said to Andrew, addressing his earlier statement.  Turning his gaze to the Unsolved boys, he then asked, "What do you two think of the idea?  I'm assuming Steven texted you both about the location."

"He did," Ryan supplied, "But I'm going to have to find a way to work it into our schedule.  There's bound to be a few haunted places around the city that Shane and I could scope out. Otherwise, I don't really think taking a plane to the other side of the country is very feasible."

Suddenly the break room door opened, "I guess it's a good thing I already spoke with Head Office then."

All eyes turned as Steven finally arrived, a giant grin plastered on his face.  His expression, Andrew noted, looked confident and prepared. Almost as if he was giving a pitch to his boss.  He flashed the four of them with an attractive smile, his eyes lingering on Andrews briefly before looking over at Shane, Ryan and Adam.  Andrew felt his face heat.

"I sent them an email before I went to sleep last night and laid out the details and what the trip would entail.  I explained about the idea of an Unsolved crossover with Worth It and looked up a few supposedly haunted restaurants in the city that we could maybe check out.   This morning, I received a reply giving the five of us the go ahead but was told I should run it by you two first."

Shane and Ryan made eye contact as Shane proceeded to pull out a chair and sit down between the two shorter men at the table.   _ Yep.  Definitely a pitch _ , Andrew thought with a smirk.

"Well I guess that takes a lot of the work out of it for us."  Shane said with a shrug. Ryan nodded, then turned his gaze to Steven who was now standing next to Adam by the coffee machine, his confident smile still very much present.

"You remember the deal was that Shane and I get to choose what you guys are eating.  I hope you didn't research any of the menus of the haunted places you're proposing we investigate."   


Steven shook his head, still beaming, "Nope. I want this to be as fair as possible..."  There was a brief pause before he continued, "So are we all in agreement?"

Andrew nodded, his eyes glancing between Steven and Adam before turning his attention to Shane and Ryan.

"I have no objections."  Shane said. Adam shrugged with a smile, raising the coffee to his lips for another sip.  It seemed everyone was on board. Andrew silently watched the exchange between his co-workers with an amused chuckle.

"Looks like we have ourselves a deal, Lim," Ryan agreed finally, the corners of his mouth turning up in a challenging smile.  Shane then stood up. He finished off the last few sips of his coffee and placed the mug in the sink. Heading for the door, he called back to Ryan, "I'll go order the plane tickets.  I'll leave the details about the food stuff to you."

Ryan nodded, also stood.   Glancing over his shoulder before leaving the room, his eyes fixed on Andrew.  There was a challenging note to his voice, "Alright Ilnyckyj, you better have that fifty bucks ready for me.  Then maybe you can wax poetic about how defeat tastes, instead."

Andrew simply met his gaze with a challenging smile. "We shall see."

***

The rest of the day was spent preparing for their trip, as well as for their leave of absence.   


Adam checked all the various equipment to make sure that it was functioning properly.  He had sent a few emails over to his colleagues with the footage he gathered from the potluck dinner so that Andrew and Annie could get a head start on the holiday finale videos.  Annie confirmed that she received the footage just fine, and assured everyone that they would be out in time for Christmas while everyone was away filming in New York.

Steven busied himself with details about Andrew and Adam's stay.  Since Buzzfeed agreed to fund the trip, he was looking up various hotels in the general area, getting the best price for two rooms that he could find.  As nice as it would have been to have his friends stay with him in his apartment, he was kind of glad that they wouldn't be stuck on a couch. After taking care of sleeping arrangements, he emailed Shane and Ryan a short list of supposedly haunted restaurants so that they could take a look and see.  
  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**From:** stevenkwlim@buzzfeed.com

**Fwd** : ryansbergara@buzzfeed.com, shanemadej@buzzfeed.com

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__

_ So these are the places that I found in New York that are reported to be haunted in some way.   Feel free to do your own research, but I figured these might be of interest to you. _

  
  


**_One If By Land, Two If By Sea - 17 Barrow St., Greenwich NY_ **

 

_ This old carriage house was used by Aaron Burr during the 1790s, but after killing General Alexander Hamilton in a duel, he lost most of his New York property, including the carriage house, according to the restaurant's website. Eventually the property became a silent movie house and then a bar, and in 1972, it was converted to a restaurant. Its long history shows up in strange and spooky ways -- a manager has heard heavy footsteps walking up the stairs and clinking glasses from the unused third floor. According to "Haunted New York" by Cheri Revai, a non-existent cat meows inside the building, and one time, an employee witnessed a copy machine sort papers on its own. He quit the next day. A woman in a white gown has also been seen floating around at night and moves wall hangings, too. The staff believes her name is Elizabeth based on a parapsychologist's investigation. A tombstone was later found under the foundation with the name Elizabeth Seaman, the book states. _

 

**_Bill's Townhouse - 57 E 54th St., New York NY_ **

 

_ The spirit of a small girl, whom employees call Beatrice, allegedly haunts this upscale American restaurant and piano bar. According to a restaurant spokeswoman, Beatrice lived in the townhouse with her family and got sick. She later died in a hospital, but employees believe that since she was unable to return home, she wanders the restaurant looking for a doll she left behind. Guests have reported being locked in the second floor women's restroom even though the lock is on the inside, and a waiter felt someone grab him around the waist and his knees like a child would while working in a private dining room. An events manager was in the fourth floor office when she heard someone run up the staircase and watched the office door slam. There was no one on the other side, according to a spokeswoman. _

 

**_Bistro Chat Noir - 22 East 66th St., Upper East Side NY_ **

 

_ The owner of this French restaurant, which translates to Black Cat Bistro, says she's been freaked out by strange happenings over the course of her 11 years in the space, which used to be a residential townhouse. When she took over the space, Suzanne Latapie found a black cat living in the basement and took it as a sign that the restaurant had some strange history. Soon thereafter, she noticed that the wall sconces would go on and off inexplicably. Concerned, she burned sage to clear the spirits. Since then the lights don't go out, she said. The spirits may belong to the Van Der Voort sisters -- it's located just a stone's throw from the Central Park skating rink, where they were known to go. Latapie recently had a strange encounter in the basement again. She was hosting a wedding rehearsal dinner and went to retrieve the bridal veil from the downstairs when the lights went on and off a few times, she said. Having a feeling she was being watched, she asked, "Do you like this veil? Do you want this veil?" The lights turned back on immediately, she said. _

 

_ These are just a few.  I am sure you can find more.  Let me know what you think. _

 

**_\- Lim S._ **

  
  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Shane was finishing up purchasing the plane tickets, and started to move on to the hotel the two of them would be residing at for the duration of their stay in the city.   When Steven's email came in, he looked at it briefly before getting back to his other work.

Ryan was researching locations of his own for them to check out.  There was a lot of history to New York, and with it, a lot of unsolved mysteries that he was just itching to read into.  Opening up Steven's email, he noted that some of the places mentioned were ones he had considered already. So long as Steven was honest about not looking into the menus, the three locations Steven selected seemed perfect. With that thought, Ryan looked up their phone numbers and make a few calls to see if the five of them could pay a visit.

There was no way he was losing this bet, he thought to himself with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Andrew was going over his projects and sending out emails to the various other team members of Tasty, announcing his leave to New York as well as return date.  Once that was done, he continued to think about other things that may need to be taken care of. Somewhere along the line, he found himself grinning with excitement.

This Christmas he was actually going to see snow! It had been years since the last time he had.  It may have only seemed like a little thing, but the child inside of him was filled with wonder. More memories of New York returned to him.

He could remember the days growing up when his family would head from New Jersey into the city.  It would have been cold and snowy, but everyone would be in a happy mood anyway. Most years they would head to midtown Manhattan to watch the Rockettes perform their Christmas show.   He could remember looking up at the enormous Christmas tree out front, it's lights sparkling and shining with hope and he would be thinking to himself about how wonderful the holiday is, and how at peace with the world it all brought him.

Los Angeles’ Christmas was nice, but it was nothing like a Christmas in New York.

Andrew sighed, adding ' **winter clothes** ' to the log of items he would need to bring with him.   The list he was typing up was as much for everyone flying out as it was for his co-workers at home base.  He knew Steven was in charge of the budget they were given for the show, but it was Andrew's responsibility to take inventory for items they would be bringing with them from the office.

What else did he need to add....

There were a couple thermoses in the break room that could come in handy during the cold winter nights.  Sure, they would be going out to eat warm food (and possibly drink), but it couldn't hurt to bring some with them for the downtime when they would inevitably find themselves out in the cold night air. Memories continued to flood him as Andrew added ' **Thermos** ' to the list.  
  
  


_ Time square.  It was a bitter chilly night.  Sarah was standing beside him and his feet were starting to go numb.  Andrew gently held the hot cup of cocoa, taking a sip. He could feel the blazing heat wash down his throat, creamy and sweet.  A major contrast to the frigid air around him. He felt nervous. It was three minutes to midnight as the two of them stood side by side, watching the shiny glowing orb glitter as people were gathering around them.  Andrew gripped the ring box that was sitting in his left pocket. They watched the clock, not looking at one another. _

**_You can do this, Andrew.  Five years. It's all lead to this._ **

_ A single firework goes off and he can hear some people cheer. The wind blows a hard gust and nips at his ears and nose, biting him. _

_ "Andy," Sarah began.  Her voice felt distant.  He could hear apprehension in her tone.  Andrew looked over at her. She didn't look at him. _

_ "...There's... Something I should tell you." _

_ Andrew frowned in slight confusion, as something started to feel very wrong.  If it were even possible, the night air seemed to get a whole lot colder. _

_ "Yeah hon?  What's wrong." _

_ Two minutes to midnight. The crowd began to get more lively. The chill of the air started to penetrate through the heat of his clothes and he no longer could feel the cold.  A deep numbness began to settle in. He gripped the ring box tighter. _

_ He wasn't sure if that was the cold. _

_ She said nothing, continuing to stare at the clock as the time ticked down. Someone brushed up against his back, bumping Andrew slightly.  He didn't seem to notice. People were screaming as pre-celebrations were starting up. _

_ One minute to midnight. _

_ "... About Scott..."  She continued. His best friend. He was going to be Andrew's best man.  He had it all planned out. It was going to strike midnight, and he was going to kiss her and then drop to one knee. He would pull out the ring and she would say yes and the two of them would kiss and start the beginning of their future together in the new year.  Was Scott ok? He hadn't answered any of Andrew's texts that day. _

_ "What about Scott?"  He asked, a slight panic rising in his chest. Still she didn't look at him.  "Is... is he alright, sweetie?" _

_ "...He's ok."  Sarah replied, her voice carefully even. Robotic almost.   
_

_ The numbness set in further. The crowd was starting to count.  Thirty seconds. Cheers could be heard from all sides. _

_ "What's wrong."  Andrew asked, his voice tone going blank. _

_ Twenty seconds. _

_ "I..."  She went quiet again.  Andrew said nothing, waiting.  Expectant. His left hand gripped the ring box even tighter now.  He couldn't feel it's sharp edges digging into his palm anymore. _

_ Ten seconds.   
_

_ Everyone was counting now.   Her lips started moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. _

_ Nine. _

_ The crowd was getting louder. _

_ Eight. _

_ Her lips stopped moving.    
_

_ Seven. _

_ She still wasn't looking at him.  Her eyes fixated on the ball. _

_ Six. _

_ "Sarah?"  Andrew asked, confused. _

_ Five. _

_ Sarah turned to look at him finally, her eyes as cold as the air around him. _

_ Four. _

_ Her expression was guarded and she stepped away from him. _

_ Three. _

_ Andrew felt like the world was starting to spin, as he heard the crowd yelling. _

_ Two. _

_ He couldn't feel anything anymore.  Andrew removed his left hand from his pocket, ring box still tightly gripped, arm at his side.  Her eyes were still on him, but they held none of the love and kindness they used to. They were cold and determined.  Andrew felt sick. _

_ One. _

_ He saw her lips move but he almost didn't hear it.   "I'm cheating on you. Scott told me about the ring and that's when I realized.  I can't continue to do this. I'm sorry. It's over." _

_ "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"  Everyone around them cheered.   Auld Lang Syne began to play over the loudspeaker as Sarah walked off into the crowd, leaving him there alone.   Andrew continued to stand there, numb. His left hand's grip loosened as the ring box fell to the ground. _

_ For the first time in five years, he was completely alone. _

 

Andrew shook his head, coming back to the present with a frown.  There was a reason he left New York to fly to the other side of the country.  He needed to get away from there. Away from  _ them _ .  Those were less pleasant memories to remember.   


Suddenly, the memory of Steven's voice from last night pierced through his clouded, dark thoughts.

_ "Look.  I’m sorry to be pushing this.   But like… It's Christmas, and to be quite frank.. It can get kind of lonely in NYC.  I'm just saying I wouldn't mind having my best friends around for a couple weeks, even if Buzzfeed wont cover the whole trip costs."   
_

He remembered the pleading in his voice and the tinge of disappointment at the thought of Andrew saying no.  The memory of Sarah was a long time ago. He held no candle for her anymore. It was perhaps time to move on from that frigid moment in time square.  Perhaps he and Steven could make some new memories there.

A small smile washed away the former frown on his lips.   Andrew felt his face getting hot again.

Shifting his focus, he turned back to his emails.  Almost everything was set. He just needed to finish up a little more paperwork, then he would be free to head home and pack. That smile continued to lift the corners of his lips as it all began to fall into place.

Tonight was going to be a busy night.   He had a plane to catch!

***

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of haunted restaurants in New York -- https://www.amny.com/things-to-do/haunted-restaurants-nyc-1.14638310


	3. New York reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey begins as the Worth It and Unsolved boys board the plane to NYC. Andrew continues to reflect on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ch3 is done. Huge thanks to Ridge for this <3 I think it reads much cleaner now.

"Boarding for American Airlines flight A324 from Los Angeles to New York at gate 47B in twenty minutes. Please have your boarding passes ready and any carry on items properly tagged."

The announcement echoed throughout the terminal. It was a busy morning, bustling with people of all kinds. Many of them flying out to visit their families for the holidays, for business trips or other various reasons. The airport was packed. 

Andrew and his travel companions were all congregated around a 7-Eleven in the food court. Nursing a cup of (particularly bad) airport coffee, he sat half-asleep.  Steven was sitting across from him, head on the table looking like he didn't get much rest himself the night prior. Adam was on his phone, scrolling through Twitter, while Shane was casually reading a book and making small talk with Ryan.

The notice sounded overhead, prompting Adam to check his ticket. 

"Well, that's us," He said looking up at everyone. Turning his attention to both Shane and Ryan, he said with a tired grin, "We'll see you guys when we touch down in five hours or so."

Ryan cast a tired glance at his three colleagues, his own ticket firmly in hand. "Have a safe flight," He replied. Shane just gave them a nod and a wave before turning back to his book, clearly either too fatigued or too engrossed in the pages to verbally respond. 

The trio then rose to their feet and proceeded to meander over to the area where their plane would be leaving. Adam, the most awake of the bunch, led the way, with Steven and Andrew towing behind. They passed a garbage can and, quickly drinking back the rest of his coffee, Andrew turned to his zombie-like best friend with a chuckle, tossing the empty cup into the bin.

"You look like death, man. How late did you stay up?"

Steven flashed him a tired but warm smile as they continued towards their gate, eyes half-lidded and an obvious yawn on the tip of his tongue. 

"I…” he yawns,”... didn't sleep last night at all. It's going to be a five-hour flight, so I figured it would be best to just sleep on the plane."

Andrew shrugged, his own yawn pulling from his lips, prompted by Steven’s. He was also quite tired himself, having spent most of the evening packing and making sure he had all the last minute details in order.   

"That's actually a good idea, I think. I might do the same. Just poke me if I start snoring," Andrew said to him with a sleepy grin of his own. Steven scoffed, sinking down into one of the airport chairs as they arrived at their designated boarding gate.

"You're not the one I'm worried about snoring, Andrew," Steven said with a small chuckle, "We both know that Adam is the worst of us for that -- Why do you think I got two hotel rooms instead of just one?"

"HEY!" Adam chirped in mock indignation as he proceeded to sit next to Steven. Andrew took the seat opposite his best friend.   

"Well, at least that means I get a room to myself for the night." The cameraman grumbled. 

Steven chuckled, sleep still very much coating the tone of the edges of his voice, "That's true. Enjoy it, man. This trip is gonna be..." Steven yawned again. "...fun."

Andrew yawned once more as well and then leaned back in his chair, waiting out the remaining twenty minutes before boarding time.

Most of the evening-turned-morning had been a blur, really, as he had gone over his checklist a few more times the prior evening and made sure he had enough warm clothes for the cold New York weather. The forecast called for snow (and a lot of it), so he had to go digging in the back of his closet for his heavy duty winter jacket.  After a few minutes of rustling around, he happened upon it as well as a bunch of other rarely used articles of clothing--including a hand knit scarf from his grandmother, a pair of warm woollen mittens and a soft cap to match them complete with a fuzzy bobble on the top. 

Along with the jacket, he happened to find his old pair of ice skates as well. That brought a smile to his face. It had been many years since he'd had the chance to use them, and the feel of the soft leather beneath his fingers brought back warm memories of the brief time in his adolescence when he had dabbled in learning to figure skate.  He smiled at the memory of it. The hobby had been something he kept up for a few years, however, once he finished college and started working pretty much full time, the man rarely had any spare time of his own to go and practice.

Eventually, the hobby fell by the wayside. Then upon moving to LA, along with the hot weather the idea of skating was all but forgotten until now. He paused, glancing between his suitcase and the other boxes in the closet that he was systematically going through. He briefly considered for a moment, and on a whim, decided to pack the skates away into his bag. Rockefeller Center had two ice rinks and it had been way too long since he used them. What harm could there be?

Turning back to the rest of his luggage, he tried to think of other things he might like to bring for fun.  This trip was more of a working vacation -- he wasn't fooling anyone about that. Least of all himself! Sure, there was the bet where he would have to put his taste-buds to the test (Ryan has no idea what he's gotten himself into!), but besides that?  It was spending Christmas and new years with his best friends. The mere idea that they were just colleagues was laughable at best. Surely Steven knew this when he made that comment the other night.  

He frowned. Perhaps Steven was just insecure about the proposition of them flying across the country for no other reason than to hang out.  It's not like he had ever really asked Andrew if he missed him.   

Andrew huffed a sigh, finally being fully honest with himself about it. He did miss Steven. Steven was the whole reason he agreed to this entire trip. Hell, Steven is the whole reason he does Worth It!  Not having his best friend there as often anymore-- _of course_ he would miss him.

He had shaken his head of the thoughts and continued packing. He wasn't going to be getting much sleep that night.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Andrew looked over at his two friends. Adam was scrolling through his phone and Steven looked like he may have passed out in the chair. A fond smile tugged at his lips, as he watched his best friend dozing until suddenly broken from his thoughts by the flight announcement speaker. 

The lady's voice boomed, "Now boarding for zone 1, American Airlines flight A324 from Los Angeles to New York at gate 47B.  Please have your boarding passes ready and all carry on luggage tagged."

Adam turned from his phone to Steven, giving his shoulder a little shake as Andrew pulled his arms above his head in a stretch. Steven yawned before slowly bending down to pick up his carry on bag, and then rose from the chair to his feet with a quiet grunt. His eyes met his two travel companions with a sleepy smile,

"Alrighty boys... It's go time." With a yawn, the ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

***

There's a thing about airplanes and flights in general. Something Andrew had forgotten about (and usually did every time they had to fly somewhere) and that was the fact that airplanes? They're not very comfortable. The other thing Andrew forgot to realize: Five hours is a long time.

So here he was, squished between a snoring Adam who had dozed off an hour ago, and a _straight-up-passed-out_ Steven. What was worse, Andrew was involuntarily made a human pillow for the latter man in question, whilst the former continued to saw logs. Thank god for Steven's foresight about the hotel room assignment; Andrew couldn't understand how Steven could sleep through this, with Adam only two chairs away, rivaling that of a chainsaw.

Still…in spite of the uncomfortable chairs, the in-flight movie wasn't too bad, and Andrew found his mind wandering back to other nights long ago when he and Steven would hang out and watch Netflix after work together. Once more, like an echo of the thought when they were washing dishes together the other evening, this felt oddly domestic; As if Steven had fallen asleep on him while they were watching a movie or something.  

It wasn't too far from the truth, considering the in-flight movie in question was Die Hard; one he and Steven had seen many times.  He could feel the weight of Steven's head on his shoulder and his warm steady breath on his cheek as he slept. He could smell the faint hint of coconut-banana shampoo that his friend probably used shortly before meeting up with everyone at the airport as well as the slight undertone of the coffee the two of them had been drinking earlier on his breath. There was also a hint of something else… something that was just Steven.

Glancing a look at his exhausted best friend, he could see light bags under the man's eyes- evidence of him staying up entirely too late recently.  He looked peaceful... Like he was finally getting the rest he had been putting off for so long. Andrew also noticed the small smile, even in sleep that Steven had on his lips.   Lips that were soft looking, and pink and so very close to his own. He wondered if they felt as soft as they looked.

Andrew felt his face flush.  

Now _that_ was a strange thought.

Pulling his mind away from it and forcing his gaze back to the movie, he thought quietly to himself, reasoning it out. It was true, he had missed Steven.  Could it be possible that there was more to it than that? The holidays were always a somewhat lonely time for him, so these strange thoughts could just be a combination of being overtired and missing his best friend. He internally scolded himself and closed his eyes. He just needed some sleep.  That was all.  

Still.

Trying to rest was not an easy task. The lingering scents persisted through his mind and Steven's breath remained warm on his cheek. Andrew continued to do his best to ignore it.  

Another hour passed and eventually, mercifully, he managed to fall asleep. It was only the sound of the captain over the speakers announcing their arrival at JFK that had managed to rouse him awake.

Adam was already conscious and playing a game on his phone. Steven was watching the mini screen in front of them with his head still on Andrew's shoulder, seemingly unmoved from earlier in spite of the fact he was awake. Andrew vaguely realized that he was using Steven's head as his pillow; the two of them curled up next to one another in a manner that suggested their relationship was closer than it was.

Seemingly unaware that he was awake, Andrew felt Steven's hand gently touch his left knee, caressing it slowly a couple times before giving it a little shake.

"Hey Drew…we're about to land," Steven whispered to him.

Andrew pulled his head up, straightening himself out as Steven removed his head from his shoulder. The lights in the cabin were dimmed, but Andrew was almost sure he was imagining the slight pink that seemed to be dusted over his friend's cheeks as he reached to put the tray table up, and ease his seat back into the prime position. Turning his attention away, he and the rest of the trio proceeded to wait for the plane to land.

***

  
They had finally reached baggage claim. New York was packed -- almost more so than LA --  with many people milling about trying to identify their belongings amongst the carousel.  
  
"How was your flight?" Ryan's voice was cheery as him and Shane spotted the trio gathering their things, and wandered over shortly after locating and retrieving their own luggage.

"Long," Steven had replied, a small yawn still on his lips in spite of the maybe three-hour nap he got on the plane. Andrew didn't really know how long his friend was out for, having fallen asleep himself, and the memory of it brought a small blush to his cheeks.

Ryan hummed sympathetically. "I get that. But we're here now, so I guess the next step is getting to our hotels and settling in? I sent off an email to 'One if By Land, Two if By Sea' and have confirmed our reservation for the challenge. We're scheduled for five PM tomorrow."

Steven nodded, pleased, before his expression took on an air of cockiness as he replied.

"Good," he said, "So are you going to pay us the one-fifty all at once at the end, or will you be issuing seventeen dollars to all of us per location as we go?"

Andrew snickered at the comment.

As soon as the sentence finished, Ryan threw Steven a challenging glare; his own mischievous grin tugging the sides of his mouth, a single eyebrow raised, "what makes you think _you’re_ gonna win this, Worth It boy?"

Andrew, having grabbed his and Steven's last few bags, stepped to stand beside his friend, "Oh, we'll win," he supplied smugly, "I hope you didn't forget the blindfold."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ryan laughed. Shane stood beside Ryan, looking like he just wanted to leave.

"Are you guys done?" He said, "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of hungry and could really use another shower-- our flight here was uncomfortable, and the guy in the seat beside us kept coughing the whole time. I'm kinda worried about catching whatever he had."

Ryan turned to his best friend beside him with a nod, "yeah, Shane's right. We really should probably go check in. To be honest, I still need a nap."

Andrew responded with a yawn as Steven agreed, "yeah that's actually a good idea. We should probably head out. Follow me, guys."

At that, Steven turned his attention to Andrew with a grateful smile and took his luggage back from him. Pulling the extendable handle of his suitcase out, Steven walked ahead of everyone, leading the way into the downtown streets of New York City.

Upon breaching the doors of the airport, above them was a long stretch of white overcast. Light, fluffy, snow softly fell from the sky and the wind had a nip to it, but nothing Andrew was unfamiliar with. He paused momentarily, taking a long pull of the crisp chill into his lungs before asking the group to hang on a sec so that he could put on his hat and gloves. The bite of the air felt nostalgic-- a sharp contrast to the hot LA sun, and it pulled a smile to the corner of his lips. He'd hate to admit it, but a part of him did miss this place.

The group continued forward, dodging their way through the crowd of people on the street. Christmas was well on its way, and the last minute rush was very apparent as the five of them weaved in and out, following the shock of lavender blond hair in front. Their hotel luckily was nearby; Steven had made sure of that and the five of them all walked in relative silence making their way there on foot.

They passed a food vendor where Shane purchased a hotdog, and then they continued forward until finally, after about ten minutes of walking, the hotel Steven had been looking for came into view.  

Andrew sighed in relief. He was tired from the flight and really wanted a nap. Shane, who had been the one to book the hotel for himself and Ryan, called back from behind them when the large building came within view, Ryan keeping pace beside him looking out of his element.

"So are you guys staying at the Marriott as well?"

"Yeah. It was closest to the airport and located right on the subway line, so I figured it would be the most convenient to be able to get around to the places you two have chosen.  That and Rockefeller Center is the most accessible from this location. I figured we could all visit the Radio City Music Hall in our downtime between filming."

Adam, who had been quietly following the rest of the group, looked over at Steven with a smile.

"I remember visiting here when I was a kid one Christmas. My parents took me to see their annual Christmas show."

"I used to go every year when I lived in Jersey as a kid," Andrew added, "it's fun."

Ryan, who had been shivering beside Shane the whole time spoke up as well, "that's nice and all. We can maybe check that out later. I don't know about you guys but I'm absolutely freezing, so can we just get to the hotel where it's warm and check in?"

That earned him a chuckle from Shane, "awe. The poor, sunny, California boy is cold."

"Shut up, Shane. It's not like I grew up in the midwest like you did. Besides, you're part Sasquatch.  You probably have an immunity to the cold. "

Steven, Adam, and Andrew watched the exchange with amusement as Shane's grin grew impossibly larger, his chuckle turning into a full on laugh.

"Well, how do you explain the three of them, hmm? I think you're just weak."

"I'll show you weak..." Ryan mumbled, picking up the pace to the hotel, too cold to continue arguing.  He pushed forward in a fast-paced walk, brushing by Steven who was chuckling under his breath.

"Dude can't take the cold at all, can he? It's not even twenty-five out. How do you two manage when you have to travel to haunted locations in colder areas?"

"Oh believe me," Shane said, lightly chuckling to himself, "I manage. I just have to put up with him whining about more than just ghosts. He's only a bit more insufferable in colder areas. This trip will be no different."

"Well, have fun with that," Steven replied.  Shane just grinned as they continued on towards the hotel.

***

After a short exchange and with key cards assigned, the group had finally made it to their respective rooms.  Closing the door behind him, Andrew pushed his suitcase to the side of the bed closest to the window and proceeded to flop on said bed. Steven placed his own luggage by the other bed, then decided to head for the shower leaving Andrew alone to nap.

At the sound of the door shutting, Andrew stretched out on the soft surface, enjoying being able to actually lay down after traveling for so long. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of the soft blanket beneath his fingertips, and gravity sinking him into the mattress with a comfortable sigh. Shortly after, he could hear the water running.

Andrew let his mind wander as he focused on the sound of the running water and the hum of the city outside. They were finally here and they would be for a couple of weeks. A smile played at the corner of his lips. The hard part of the trip was over. Now he could focus on enjoying himself. Tomorrow he and Steven would get to eat some tasty food; probably feeding each other while guessing what was on the plate, and other than not knowing the contents before tasting, with the exception of Adam who would be watching from behind the camera before having his own taste, everything would be like normal again.

As he began to imagine spending time with his friends, the image of Steven blindfolded while Andrew shoveled a fork full of some nondescript morsel played through his head. He could almost hear Steven's moan as he closed his mouth around the fork, his tongue licking his lips as Andrew pulled the now vacant utensil away. Once more, he could feel a heat rush to his cheeks.

Alright, yeah.. He was overtired. His brain was going down a dangerous path. Especially when the person of said thoughts was just one room over in the shower.

Unfortunately, at that thought, Andrew's mind further betrayed him: The memory of earlier flashed through his mind; The scent of coconut and banana shampoo that complimented everything that was Steven. Andrew vaguely in his tired state realized that Steven might have been using that same shampoo right at this moment. Then like a rabbit hole, further, the mental image of Steven in the shower, all wet and soapy flashed through his mind instead.   

It's like when someone tells you not to imagine a pink elephant: Your brain gives you no choice other than to think of it. The small heat from before that dusted his cheeks proceeded to scald, as Andrew opened his eyes sharply, cheeks now quite possibly crimson.

 _OKAY_ … He was **_definitely_** overtired!

Tightly closing his eyes again, he tried to will the mental images away. It was at that point the shower shut off, and Andrew could hear the door open.

He kept his eyes closed, unwilling to look at his friend after that mental image invaded his mind, and instead feigned sleep. He could hear Steven moving about the room. There was a zip from his suitcase and then some ruffling - probably pajamas. More ruffling.  Then a stillness. The sudden silence was odd. Was Steven finished getting changed? He was obviously still tired from the flight - he couldn't possibly have gotten more than three hours rest. Andrew was almost sure it was his overtired mind that he was feeling Steven's eyes on him. Maybe he was wondering if Andrew had fallen asleep yet. The pause dragged on, but eventually, Andrew heard the springs in the opposite bed dip. Then a sigh.

Andrew silently let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. His thoughts were confused and his overtired brain liked to supply unwelcome mental images. He really needed to catch up on sleep.  For both his and Steven's sake.

Rolling over onto his side, Andrew cracked open a single eye to look at his roommate. Steven was passed out once more, probably as soon as his head hit the pillow.   

He should probably do the same. With that final thought in mind, Andrew closed his eyes again and let his fatigue carry him into a dreamless sleep.

***

  
 


	4. Christmas Shopping and Stress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew, Steven and Ryan go shopping for Christmas gifts. Andrew's beginning to wonder if these thoughts about Steven are more than just stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Me again! Finally got this one out to you like I promised. I hope you enjoy. Things are going to get interesting in the coming chapters. Also, I am hinting at Shyan stuff going on in the background so keep and eye out for that later.

Morning came like a flash of lightning upon the top of a skyscraper when Andrew had finally snapped back into consciousness.  

Except five in the evening wasn't exactly morning, and the suddenness with which he woke, though comparable to a bolt of lightning, was from the sound of knocking on his door rather than a thunderstorm out his window.

Andrew sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes which were turned to the door in disoriented confusion.  Sleep still fogging his brain, he heard a voice come shortly after the knock that roused him.

"Hey, are you two up yet?"

It sounded like Ryan. With a yawn, Andrew swung his feet off the side of the bed while Steven sat up in his own, rubbing at his face sleepily.

"..We are now.." Steven mumbled to no one in particular as Andrew got up and answered it.   He opened the door and, sure enough, the face matched the voice as Ryan greeted the both of them with a tray of three Starbucks coffees and his typical pearly white smile.

"Hey.  Sorry if I woke you.  The big guy is still sleeping and I am kinda wired at the moment."  He looked at Steven who was pulling the covers off himself with another yawn as he continued, "I figured if I was gonna cruise the city for a bit, it would be more fun and probably smarter to do it with friends who are, ya know, _familiar_ with the area."

Andrew nodded, stepping aside to let the man into their room to stay while the two of them got ready.  He thanked Ryan for the coffee, grabbing one of the offered cups and taking a long pull of that sweet, sweet caffeine.

"Sure... Just let me get changed and we can head out for some dinner," Steven had said to him, now hoisting himself off the bed.   He reached for his own cup with a nod in thanks, taking a small sip and placing it on the nightstand before going into his suitcase for some clothes.

Andrew turned to his own luggage and began to grab his toiletries and a new outfit, dragging them towards the bathroom.  He called over his shoulder before opening the door,

"I'm gonna grab a quick shower since I basically passed out as soon as we checked in.  I'd kind of rather _not_ smell like sweat and airplane on our first night here."

Turning to them before entering, he flashed the two of them a grin as Ryan waved him off, "No problem, dude.  I'm in no rush."

With that, Andrew excused himself and went to go wash up, listening to the muffled hum of casual conversation behind the door.

He still felt tired, but it was a little better. As he turned to the tub, a smile crossed his lips. Now that he had a couple hours of catch-up on rest, he was excited to explore the city that he had left behind so many years ago. Turning on the warm water, he stepped into the spray. He didn't realize how uptight he was until the heat of it permeated his body, letting his muscles relax with a sigh, the tension draining.

After a moment of relaxation and bliss, he reached for the shampoo, squeezing out a liberal amount into his palm and massaging it into his scalp, eyes closed.

It was only when the scent of coconut and banana hit his nose that he realized he grabbed the wrong bottle. Steven’s shampoo.

_Once more the memory of Steven's head tucked underneath his, the two of them huddled together on the plane invaded his mind. The thought was almost impossible to shake, the tropical scent bombarding his senses and the overwhelming association with Steven that it elicited._

Ok, maybe it wasn't sleep deprivation causing this.

Andrew sighed in frustration. Of course, this had to happen! Just when he was rested up, ready to spend some quality time with his friends, he had to go and grab the wrong shampoo bottle and inadvertently cause himself an existential crisis.

The fact that Steven had been on his mind practically non stop the past week, it wasn't the first time that this possibility crossed his thoughts. Andrew was seriously questioning himself.

Maybe it was that he had just missed him, and the scent of his shampoo -- w _hich he should probably let Steven know he used accidentally by the way -_ \- was what was causing his somewhat sleep-addled brain to conjure images involuntarily. He had just woken up after all, and the caffeine from the coffee Ryan so graciously provided would not have kicked in yet.

Rinsing the sweet-smelling suds from his hair, the blond shook his head of the thoughts. That had to be it. 

The week had been stressful. And busy. He missed his best friend; he had always been around, but lately was gone more and more, and now he was back. 'S _cent is the strongest sense linked to memory_ ', he thought, and he was next to Steven the whole five hours of that plane trip.

It just had to be stress.

He closed his eyes, and let the warm stream of water run over his face, leaning with his forearms against the tile wall.

There was a lot of baggage attached to these holidays; attached to this _city_. It wasn't fair for Andrew to be putting any of that on Steven. Not after everything the two of them worked for and the friendship that they had built.  It was possible that he was developing feelings, sure. But even if that were the case, it wouldn’t do to indulge that thought.

Feelings would just make that much more complicated and if the past had taught him anything, it was that feelings always soured relationships. If he wanted to keep anyone close, he was best to leave his feelings out of it. That was a simple policy he had been abiding by since that night in Times Square: _If I don't get attached, I won't get hurt._

Besides, it wasn't like he saw Steven like that anyway.

 _'If you don't like him like that, then why are you scared of being hurt?_ ' his inner thoughts nagged.

Andrew frowned, pushing them away. He grabbed the body wash -- _his_ body wash -- and proceeded to finish up. Closing his eyes as he rinsed off, he listened to the hum of the voices behind the door muted only slightly by the sound of the water as it hit the stone surface of the tub.

After a final pause, Andrew shut off the water, dried off and began to dress before returning to his friends who were now sitting on Steven's bed, watching something on his phone.

Turning from the tiny screen, his best friend cracked a smile as their eyes met. "Hey. You ready?"

Andrew noted that instead of his PJ pants and a loose shirt, Steven was now wearing a white sweater and a clean pair of black skinny jeans, his trademark jacket already on. Once more, a blush rose to Andrew’s cheeks. Nodding in response, he rubbed the towel over his damp hair one more time, as if he was trying to rub his former thoughts off with the residual moisture.

Steven removed himself from the bed, while Ryan sat on the edge with his phone in hand. Andrew threw the towel to the ground haphazardly, finally answering Steven verbally.

"Yeah, I'm ready... Uh, um,” Andrew paused, his eyes darting about, “Steven, I er..."

"Hmm?"

Steven looked at him curiously as Andrew stuttered, "I… um… I k-kinda used your shampoo. Sorry.”

Steven chuckled lightly as he waved him off, unconcerned. Padding towards the door to put on his shoes, he replied cheerfully while kneeling down, "Oh, that's ok, Drew. I have plenty to share, I don't mind."

Looking up, he then flashed him a bright smile before turning his attention back to Ryan, laces tied. The ghost hunter took a large swig of his coffee before standing up off the bed and making his way to the door to stand beside him.

"I'll send Shane a text to let him know where we are in a bit.  I already left a note on the nightstand telling him I was going to see what you two were up to this evening."  Ryan’s eyes darted to Andrew, his smile somewhat shy as he continued his explanation for Shane's absence, "Poor guy didn't sleep much, so I feel like he needs to catch up on rest, considering. Hell, knowing me, I'll be keeping him up enough at the haunted locations...  After we finish the blindfold bet, he and I are going to be spending the night in after-hours -- Oh and you guys better have that fifty bucks ready."  

Andrew and Steven both chuckled as they headed out of the hotel door and made their way towards the elevator.  The halls were filled with light banter about the challenge as they stepped into the tiny metal room, the doors closing shut behind them.  Steven pressed the button for the bottom floor, answering Ryan with a smirk, "oh, I have the fifty bucks. For all three locations, in fact. It's sitting in your wallet, ghoul boy. "

Ryan smirked back with a wheeze, ignoring him.  He appeared to have had other plans on his mind. "So... lead the way you two.  I dunno about you but I'm starving, and actually... I kind of also wanted to hit up some of the stores while he's asleep." 

The elevator dinged a couple of times as they reached the bottom floor.

"Looking for Christmas gift ideas?"  Andrew probed. Hmm, that was something he was going to have to think about, actually.

Ryan nodded, the shy smile from earlier returning to his face, "Yeah.. Unsolved is coming into its third year, and Shane and I have been friends for a lot longer.  I just figured it would be nice for me to, I dunno. Surprise him?"

The trio walked towards the front of the building, making their way towards the doors.  As the glass slid open automatically, Ryan stifled a shiver, the other two seemingly unfazed by the sudden cold.   The chill of the night washed over them, the snow cascading softly through the air towards the ground as they stepped out onto the street.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Steven said, glancing between the two of them, a knowing smile on the corner of his lips, "I still haven't gotten Adam a gift yet.   I was gonna text him to see if he woke up yet once we decided what the plan was, but now I'm thinking it might be better to wait 'til after we go shopping. I know he had his eye on this new cookbook **Weirdly Tasty**.  There's a shopping center near here we can check out, and that should have a food court we can grab something to munch on while we're picking up some last minute gifts."

"That sounds good to me." Andrew said, "It's been a while since I was in this part of the city so it'll be nice to see if _Green Acres_ has anything new."

Doing his best to ignore the chill in the air that he wasn't used to, Ryan simply commented, "Well, I'm just following you guys.  I've never been here before, so..."

The three of them then made their way down the street, dodging the bodies that walked the opposite direction of their travel.  The boulevard was filled with pedestrians, all lining the sidewalks as the snow softly fell from the sky. Somehow, there seemed to be more people now than when they had arrived; a stereotypical holiday night in New York City, it looked almost like a scene from a movie.   

Ryan rubbed his arms in another shiver, the snow sticking to his hair like small, glittery tufts of cotton, "I might pick up an extra sweater while we're there for myself as well... I don't know how you two can stand this.  It's absolutely freezing!"

Andrew rolled his eyes with a small grin,  glancing at his phone's screen before looking over at the freezing California native, "It's not that bad.   According to my phone, it's 20 degrees. Although.. Getting an extra sweater for yourself might not be a bad idea.  The app says it's only going to get colder throughout the week. Why didn't you bring your hat?"

"Wonderful..." He grumbled, ignoring the question.

"At least it'll give you the chance to acclimate," Steven supplied helpfully. Ryan frowned further but said nothing.  The three then continued in comfortable silence until eventually, they made it to the mall. As the large building came within view, the raven-haired Californian rushed ahead inside to relieve himself of the cold, brushing the snowflakes from his hair before they melted.

Steven fell into step beside Andrew as they casually strolled towards the building, a private smile on his lips.

"I wonder when he's going to tell him," Steven said, eyes darting to Andrew briefly before looking back ahead once more.  Andrew chuckled, understanding.

"Knowing Ryan? Probably never.  Those two are going to continue to dance around one another until one of them finally steps on the other's toes, metaphorically speaking, causing them to trip into each other face first.  Until that happens, I don't think either of them is brave enough to take that risk. They're too scared to break the status quo."

There's a silent pause before Steven hummed in thought.  Turning his eyes back to Andrew again, the man cocked his head slightly, his voice low and expression difficult to read.

"I suppose that makes sense..  I mean.. if it were you, wouldn't you be scared too?"

And there's something in that, Andrew belatedly realised, but he couldn't quite make out what it was.  Suddenly, two clear doors open automatically as the two stragglers finally made their way into the packed shopping center.  

Andrew, wrenching his thoughts away from the conversation, could see Ryan standing by the touch map.  He appeared to be analyzing what stores the mall had, as well as taking note of their location, a giant ' **YOU ARE HERE'** pointing with a red arrow at the top left.

"Feeling warmer now?" he said to Ryan with a grin, pulling his attention away from the map.

"Shut up, worth it boy.  So, where to? Did you guys want to grab food first, or after we go Christmas shopping?  The map says they have a Best Buy..."

Steven walked up to the map, taking a look for a few moments before turning back to his two cohorts.

"I'm actually kind of hungry, so I vote we grab something to munch on," the lavender haired man turned his attention directly to Ryan before continuing, "they have a Chipotle we could hit up.  Then after, I could head over to Waldenbooks to pick up that cookbook for Adam, while you two go off and find whatever it was you wanted to get for Shane. The mall closes in a bit, and I wouldn't want you to get caught behind the crowds while waiting on me after all."

Andrew looked between his two companions before giving a nod.   This was convenient too, as the man had not exactly remembered to bring the gift he had for Steven with him on this trip.  He had originally intended to mail him that bottle of really expensive wine that they had when they visited Australia, but with all the sudden plans to travel away for the holiday, Andrew had forgotten to pack it with him.  Turning to Ryan, he shrugged. "I'm cool with tagging along to Best Buy with you if you want."

"Sounds good to me.  To Chipotle we go!" Ryan said with a smile, turning around and heading in the direction of the food court.  

***

Burritos in hand, the three proceeded to sit down to talk more about the challenge.  Ryan had brought the blindfold with him, which he assured to both Steven and Andrew that it was sitting on the desk in his hotel room.   Steven wandered to a nearby table, Andrew following suit with Ryan choosing to sit across from them both.   

Unwrapping their food, both Steven and Andrew wordlessly tapped their burritos together, before simultaneously taking a large bite, earning a look from Ryan. "Wait, you two actually still do that even when there are no cameras around?" he said, incredulously.

Andrew shrugged as Steven just grinned into the bite he was chewing.   The thought that it was an odd thing to do had never occurred to him.  

 _Well, that wasn't exactly true_ , Andrew thought to himself.  Sure, when they first started out, it was just a bit for the show.  A thing Steven insisted they do so that their food show stood out amongst the many others that existed on YouTube.  Andrew was even a little weirded out by it at first.   

So the thought was odd.  Somewhere along the line, not only had it become something Andrew no longer minded, but it had also become something so normal between them that he didn't even register it as odd.  In fact, the idea of not food-cheersing with Steven felt somehow wrong. The same kind of wrong that Andrew felt about his friends LA apartment walls after he moved. Like a barren emptiness from the lack of his friend's presence. The man swallowed his bite, ignoring the thought.

 "Yeah.  It's kind of our thing." Andrew deadpanned, rolling his eyes playfully. "We're good friends who appreciate good food.  It seems only right to acknowledge that somehow."

The explanation was simple and kind of half-assed, but it's not like he could explain to Ryan exactly why they did it. In fact, Andrew was sure that Ryan and Shane had their own idiosyncrasies between each other that when pressed they couldn't explain either.

Ryan shot them a squint, a small smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, "Whatever you say, fancy boys." At that, the topic was dropped in favour of preparation for the episode.

"So, _One if By Land, Two if By Sea_ has agreed to not reveal the dish you two will be eating until after you both have tasted it.   I still have to send a message to the other two places to make sure that this bet is fair, but I doubt there will be any issues with this.   It's free publicity for these restaurants after all." Ryan had told them.

Steven nodded, swallowing another bite of his food before replying, "I am excited to taste whatever meal you chose for us.  You'll see, me and Andrew understand food. I'll be sure to use some of that fifty to tip the waiter well if the food is amazing."

Ryan wheezed, coughing a little as he swallowed a bite of his own burrito before retorting back, "I hope you'll have enough for that, considering the fifty you'll be giving me and Shane will probably be used to buy some snacks for our overnight."

"It'll be hard to buy snacks without it, considering we're the ones who are gonna be winning this bet.  Oh, and try not to get killed by a ghost before we win the whole thing, hmm? I'd hate for a demon to have eaten your soul like the way we're going to be eating that delicious food."

"You'll be eating your pride before the week is done, Lim."  

Andrew just chuckled to himself silently letting the two of them have it out.  Steven looked cocky and confident with a hint of sass. Ryan looked fired up and kind of angry, but his smile belied amusement.  It was obvious the two of them were good friends, but there was a rivalry there that burned as hot as the flames on a yule log and was as bright as the star on top of a Christmas tree.  Holiday analogies aside, it was fun to watch them go at it.

Eventually, the banter tapered off as they each finished up their meals and threw the garbage into the trash, heading in the direction of their gift locations.

"We'll reconvene at the north entrance once we've gotten everything, alright?" Steven had said, and with that everyone agreed.

Ryan started off in the direction the map had suggested Best Buy was located, and Andrew stepped up beside him with a grin.

"So, what were you thinking of getting him?" he said to Ryan, curiously.

Ryan glanced at him, dodging a group of people who were not watching where they were walking.

"Shane really loves Mission Impossible, so I thought it might be nice to get him the box set, six movie collection for Blu-Ray.  That and maybe a bag of super high-end popcorn to watch it with."

Andrew hummed in appreciation of the gifts, "I'm sure he'll love them."

"I certainly hope so," Ryan replied.   Once more, some people passed between them rudely, obviously caught in the holiday bustle, "Ugh, I wish people would pay more attention to their surroundings.  We better hurry, I am not sure what the lines are gonna look like when we get there."

The two began to pick up the pace, and after a pause, Ryan asked, "so, what about you?  Did you get Steven anything nice?"

The memory of that thousand dollar wine returned to him.  Andrew wasn't sure what possessed him to spend so much money on a present for his friend.  He just simply remembered Steven saying how much he loved it, and it just seemed like a good idea at the time.   Price was never an issue when it came to making his friends smile, and the thought of Steven's face lit up as he opened the package made Andrew's chest burn with mirth.  Suddenly, the disappointment of forgetting the gift make Andrew silently curse himself. Now what was he supposed to get his friend? Ryan cast him a look, the question hanging.

"I.. I actually forgot to pack my gift with me.  I'm going to have to find something else while we're here.  I can always give it to him or mail it to him as a late Christmas present when I return to Los Angeles."

"Aww dude, that sucks.  Still, what did you get him?"

Andrew shrugged, playing it down, "Just a bottle of wine."  Ryan didn't need to know that it was a thousand dollar bottle.  That would open up questions that he wasn't in the mood to answer.  He just really cares about his friends and likes to see them happy. It's not what it would look like.

"I see," Ryan said with a smile, "So.. what do you plan to get him now?"

Andrew hummed, thinking, as they passed by a few stores on the way to Best Buy.  Eventually, his eyes fell onto Burlington Coat Factory.   

_Steven does like jackets... Maybe something from there will do._

"Actually, can we quickly head into Burlington's?  I just got an idea for a really cool gift for Steven."

Ryan grinned a pearly smile, a chuckle rumbling beneath his breath, "That's a good idea.  He needs better jackets than that weird cut off thing he usually wears." Andrew nodded, his laugh echoing Ryan's as the two of them wandered inside.  

Almost instantly, Andrew's eyes were drawn to beautiful black leather.  The jacket was perfect looking in almost every way. It looked sturdy and warm but had a beautiful sheen to it.  There were buttons along the side, but a zipper attached to an underside flap so that it could be done up in two ways.  There were at least four pockets that he could see, and it came down a little longer than the natural waist. It was exactly the thing he could see Steven wearing and he knew he had to have it.

Ryan saw his eye-line and whistled, "Wow that looks nice...  I bet it's expensive though."

Andrew didn't care. Walking up to the clerk at the front, he pointed to the jacket, "I would like that jacket, in a medium if you have it."

The clerk nodded with a smile, and proceeded to walk into the back room before emerging with a coat identical to the one on the hanger, but wrapped in a thin transparent plastic bag.

"That will be 436.75$, how would you like to pay?"

Ryan gawked as Andrew pulled out his visa without a second thought, "You really think you've got the bet won, huh."

Andrew shifted his eyes to Ryan with a smirk but said nothing.  He signed the receipt and with that, they were on their way back towards Best Buy.

The rush had gotten busier as the mall would be closing really soon.  Eventually, they reached their destination and Ryan purchased Shane's gift as planned.  Walking out of the shop, Andrew checked his phone.

8:12 pm

"Hey, did you still want to pick up a spare sweater or something for yourself?  We don't have much more time before the mall closes. Maybe forty-five minutes tops?"

Ryan contemplated it, but then shook his head.

"Naw, Steven is probably sick of waiting for us, and I'll bet the big guy is already wondering where I ran off to.  We should probably head back."

Andrew nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't received a text from Adam yet saying, ' _Where are you two?'"_

As if on queue, Andrew and Ryan's phones buzzed at the same time.

 

**_Fwd: From: Steven Lim 8:15pm_ **

**Hey guys, I'm at the entrance whenever you're ready.  The mall will be closing in 45 so we should probably head back.**

 

"Well I guess that answers that," Ryan said with a shrug.

At that, the two made their way back to the front, eyes vigilant for that familiar shock of lavender waiting.

***

Upon seeing his friends approaching, Steven's eyes fell on Andrew's large bag in his right hand.

"Looks like you got a good haul," he said with a grin, his eyes bright as he looked Andrew up and down, "what's in the bag?"

Andrew swapped hands, holding the bag slightly out of Steven's view, "it's a surprise."

"Aww, you're no fun," he replied with a pout.  Turning his attention to Ryan, he asked the same question, "what about you, short stuff? What did you get the Sasquatch?"

Ryan rolled his eyes at the jib, simply answering, "Some movies and popcorn. Shane's favourite."  Steven grinned approvingly.

"Ayyy that's awesome.  Are you guys ready to head out then?"

The other two nodded and with that they made their way back to the hotel.

The snow was falling harder now, and the wind was biting into their cheeks.  Ryan grumbled, "maybe I should have gotten that sweater after all," but no one addressed it as they just quickly made their way back as fast as they could.

The lights of the hotel were a welcome site as they practically jogged in the front doors and made their way back towards the elevator.

Pressing the buttons for their designated floors, Ryan said before it was time to leave, "so, I say we all meet up at noon tomorrow.  I'd suggest grabbing some lunch, but that's kind of what this whole thing is about. Make sure you two get enough rest and brush your teeth.  I want this to be a fair bet when me and Shane win that fifty. It'll make staying in that cursed place overnight * _worth it_ *, to see you guys lose."

Andrew's brows knit together as his lips turned up in a weird smile, "... did you really just?"

Steven simply laughed, unable to say anything else.  At that, Ryan's floor dinged and the doors opened with a whoosh.

"Have a good night, and tell Shane we said hi."

Then the doors closed and Steven and Andrew were alone.   Steven turned his head to his best friend with a warm smile.  

"Tomorrow is gonna be fun.   Also, I really think Adam is gonna like his gift.  Are you ready to eat food blind with me, Drew?"

Andrew couldn't help the fond smile that fell upon his lips seeing Steven so openly happy.

"I'm always ready to eat food with you, Steven.  Blind or otherwise."

Steven's warm smile turned shy, "I'm glad.." he said, turning his attention to the elevator doors as their floor dinged and they made their way back to the room. "what did you want to do for the rest of the evening?" he continued, the two of them walking towards their door.

Andrew considered their options, "we could watch a bit of TV and order room service. I know we only ate about an hour or two ago but I'm sure we'll get hungry before the end of the night.   Maybe text Adam and see if he wants to join us."

Steven nodded in agreement, as they opened the door and he proceeded to flop on the bed, jacket still on.

Andrew, for a moment, just let himself watch.  Steven was already looking at his phone, catching up on social media and probably texting Adam to get his ass to their hotel room. He just purchased a four hundred dollar coat for his best friend for Christmas.   Still the smell of bananas and coconut floated across his nose and Andrew thought quietly to himself, the thoughts from earlier returning.

_Don't get attached and you won’t get hurt._

It's probably too late for that now...  He and Steven were friends, nothing more.   But when he considered everything that's been on his mind these past weeks... Four hundred dollars on top of the thousand from months earlier..  

No.  That wasn't something he was ready to consider.   

"Hey Drew, what are you doing still standing in the doorway?  Get over here and help me choose what movie we're watching."

Definitely not ready to consider.   He and Steven were _just friends_...

No matter what the coconut banana shampoo wanted his mind to believe.

*****


	5. Denial is a River in Egypt.  Blind Taste Test First Location

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew comes to terms with the thoughts in his head and the group visits the first location. The challenge begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's me again.
> 
> Ridge is the best beta ever. Note: The stories and name of the chef are real and if you wanted to see what the restaurant looks like, there is a neat thing on google similar to street view where you can go inside and walk around. 
> 
> Anyways, enough of my blabber. On with the fic.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, rousing Andrew awake. The room was quiet, the alarm having not gone off yet, and he vaguely realized that he had woken up before 9:00 am.

Rolling over, Andrew's eyes cast to the figure laying fast asleep in the bed opposite his. Steven looked peaceful, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. Andrew couldn't help but wonder what the man was dreaming about.

The memories of the previous day floated across his mind; Mostly the evening they arrived, Ryan suggesting they pick up some last minute Christmas gifts. He remembered the chill of the air as the group made their way to the old mall. The jacket that was too perfect, so much that he had to get it for Steven despite already having a Christmas gift he could send to him after they returned to LA.

Sure he could wait. But there was just something special about giving someone a gift on the actual day. Besides, Steven was a man of God, so it only seemed right that Andrew should have a gift to give him for Jesus' birthday. As he observed his sleeping friend, the man couldn't help his own smile as he imagined how Steven might react to the Christmas gift he had purchased.

Would he laugh and try it on right away? Or would he just smile in that private way, warm and reserved only for special moments, as Andrew had been privileged to share with him on rare occasion. Or maybe he would pull Andrew into a hug, his voice filled with mirth as he thanked him. Maybe he would pull back from that hug and look into the deep green of Andrew's eyes and...

Ok. Yeah. Maybe he needed to assess this.

As these thoughts floated around his mind, that familiar heat began to rise in his chest. The same one he felt when he saw Steven smile. The same one he felt on the plane, Steven's head resting peaceful on his shoulder. The same one he got whenever he heard the man laugh. The laugh that caused him to pause and question things. Things he didn't want to question. Things he wasn't ready to confront.

Fuck.

Rolling on to his back, he frowned, mentally berating himself. There was only so much he could put aside and brush off before he ended up drowning in that famous river in Egypt. It was time to get out of the water. He had to be honest with himself. Yeah... he was crushing on his best friend.

His mind kept wandering to moments between them:

Japan; Andrew uttered the words "conveyor belt me," and was hoisted up and carried by the taller man, who was a lot stronger than he initially appeared. The two of them laughing, their faces lit with mirth as he ran for a good three minutes carrying him.

Australia; sitting down, viewing the landscape; a baguette and a bottle of wine with nothing but them and the camera crew to share it between. It was all so very romantic; That whole trip was! He'd purchased the thousand dollar wine bottle that the two of them tried. He remembered Steven's declaration of it being his 'Worth It Winner' because "you can taste the history." He remembered the expression on his face when the man tasted it. The expression that caused that familiar heat to flood through Andrew's veins, threatening to burn him alive. At that point, price no longer mattered. He got it because Steven said how much he loved it.

When he forgot to bring the gift with him for this trip, instead of waiting (like a normal person) he went and spent yet another four fifty on the man-- just so that he could see Steven smile.

Andrew wasn't an idiot. At least not all the time. He could claim that these presents were just for the holidays; a moral obligation. He could hide behind the friendly gestures and play it off as simply missing his best friend all he wanted, but he wasn't fooling himself. The price tags alone were proof enough. The memory of Ryan's expression when Andrew had purchased the coat yesterday floated across his mind. No. He couldn't deny it any longer.

The truth was, he liked Steven and has for a long time.

Closing his eyes, Andrew scowled at himself. None of that mattered though. Crush or not, he shouldn't be thinking about his taller co-host like that. The man had been his friend for years and together they built the show into what it was; a professional relationship that extends only just beyond that into companionship. Steven had never seen him as more than that. A friend, nothing more. He even, just the other day, referred to himself as a mere colleague of Andrews; It wasn't like he saw him that way.

No, Andrew had to do what any good business partner and best friend did with their unrequited feelings: Compartmentalize.

Wrenching his thoughts towards something different, Andrew sat up in the bed, swinging his feet to the side and standing up.

Turning his mind to the plans later on, he proceeded to turn around and get dressed. They would be meeting the ghoul boys at noon and all heading over to One if by Land, Two if by Sea to start the blindfolded taste challenge.

If memory served, that restaurant was quite pricey and possibly required a dress code. He had never been before, but had heard many reviews about it back when he used to live in New Jersey. Just to be safe, he proceeded to grab a pair of nice pants from his suitcase and a simple blue dress shirt. Nothing too formal, but fancy enough for most higher end places. This would do.

Andrew wondered what Ryan had planned for the two of them to eat. "Probably something really complex..." He mumbled to himself aloud, thinking. His gaze fell to the window, noting the clear blue sky, soft snow covering the roof tops of the adjacent buildings. It was a beautiful day to win a bet. Andrew smiled.

"..What's complex?" came a tired voice from the corner of the room.

Steven sat up in bed with a yawn and a stretch, turning his sleepy eyes to Andrew who had just finished buckling up his pants. The man turned around with a warm smile, the heat in his chest bubbling to the surface at the sight. He ignored it.

"Morning. I was just wondering what kind of dish Ryan is going to have them prepare for us today."

Steven nodded, reaching for his phone to check the time.

"Well, we have about four hours before we have to meet up with them to find out. It's only 8," He cast his eyes back at the man, the sleepy smile from earlier turning bright and beaming, "you're certainly looking spiffy today. I gotta say -- loving the blue."

Looking away, Andrew felt the blush as it crept from his chest on to his cheeks, "um, thanks. I don't quite know what we're in for today, but I remember hearing that One if by Land, Two if by Sea is a more high end restaurant, and I am unsure if they require a dress code. I figured that this was a safe choice to wear today... You should probably do the same."

Steven, now sitting on the edge of the bed, was gazing at Andrew with an expression the man couldn't quite place. The smile from before now resting lightly on his lips, eyes soft. Nodding, he agreed,

"Yeah, that's a smart idea, Drew. I'll text Adam and make sure he knows as well. Also maybe see if he’s up yet, then we can all grab some breakfast and shoot some B shots of the city."

Doing up the last few buttons, Andrew nodded, "That sounds like a plan."

He then reached for his own phone, turning off the alarm and proceeding to head into the washroom to freshen up for the day. Glancing at the shower before turning to the sink, his eye caught the infamous shampoo bottle sitting on the side of the tub, mocking him.

So he had an unrequited crush. It's not like Steven knew. It would be ok. Nothing has to change. They would go out today, eat some awesome food like they always do. Win fifty bucks.

Andrew looked at himself in the mirror with determination.

He could do this.

***

Some time later, Adam had met up with them. He, Steven and Andrew settled on a coffee from the Starbucks before taking a few panning shots of the city, chatting idly to themselves. Everyone was still a little tired from the late night last night, but over all the group was feeling pretty good.

It wasn't that much longer until everyone was all ready to head out, when Shane and Ryan made their way down to the hotel lobby at noon sharp, blindfolds in hand.

"Better get your wallet ready, worth it boys," Ryan had said with a confident chuckle.

"Bring it, short stick," Steven returned with a smirk, glancing between both Shane and Ryan before turning back to Andrew and Adam with a nod, "alright, let's get going."

Shane and Ryan both nodded, Ryan taking step ahead of the group, leading the way. "I have the directions to the place saved on my phone. I was gonna call an uber, but the subway is cheaper and we aren't too far from it according to google maps," Ryan said, adjusting his hat to better cover his ears as everyone padded along the sidewalk.

The day was a little warmer than the previous, but the air still had a nip to it. Shane smirked, poking fun at his co-host with a casually amused lilt to his voice, "I'm surprised, considering you hate the cold. Don't think I don't notice you shivering even now."

Ryan glared at the taller man, "shut up, Shane," he replied, but there was no heat to the words. He then continued, "I kind of want to explore the city a little bit. It's not that cold compared to the other day, and I would rather use that fifty on snacks for our investigation rather than on someone to cart us around in this traffic. Just look around you. New York looks almost worse than LA, dude."

Steven huffed a laugh, Adam smiling with amusement behind him. Shane shrugged as his eyes darted to the road briefly, "I can't really argue with you there."

Andrew grinned to himself, watching the exchange. That was actually one of the main reasons he didn't get his license until after he had moved. Sure, LA's traffic was bad -- It almost always came out number one on sites rating the worst traffic in the USA -- however, most of those sites only accounted for highway traffic, and never for the unholy hell that is downtown NYC. In spite of the overcrowded lanes filled with angry and often bad drivers, the one advantage to the Big Apple over the City of Angels was that it's transit system was far superior. It was often much faster to just take the subway than to drive. That was one of the things he missed about living here.

The man continued to muse, his mind wandering as they made their way down and waited for the train. It was a lot warmer underground and Steven wandered to stand beside him, startling him out of his thoughts.

"What-cha thinkin' about, Drew? You look a little dazed. Do we need to get you another coffee?"

Andrew, turning his attention to his own taller co-host, shrugged, "eh, not really. Just thinking about the last time I was here. The subway system in New York is far superior to the one in LA, so I was kind of just reminiscing."

Steven nodded with an understanding smile. Adam then meandered over, camera in hand, "we should probably shoot the beginning shots to the video. Our train will arrive in another four minutes, so we can get a shot of us boarding."

Ryan and Shane then came up behind him, and nodded at Adam, "well, we're ready. Just let us know when we're rolling."

Stepping back, Adam held up the camera. Steven then proceeded to walk into the frame as the former man pointed with a swooping finger to signify they were recording.

"Heeey! We are in New York City, baby! For a very special episode of Worth It. Last time, we finished off the holiday special, we invited two very spooky individuals to our potluck. So today, we have the ghoul boys, Ryan and Shane with us on a very... interesting food adventure."

Ryan and Shane both proceeded to walk into the shot and both said their hellos' with Shane saying, "hey." and Ryan, "how's it going, man?"

Steven then turned from the two of them back to the camera. "So the two of them came up with a bit of a challenge for me and Andrew here."

Andrew then flashed the camera one of his smiles, adding, "Ryan and Shane here, seem to think that we--," he proceeded to put his arm around Steven, "--articulate too much about food."

Steven looked over at him with a smirk. “Crazy, right?"

"I know!" Andrew continued, removing his arm and turning a challenging look to their two guests, "well, Ryan here seems to think so. He even said at the potluck, and I quote: “I bet you guys can't correctly guess the intricacies of three different foods, at three vastly different price points… blindfolded."

"I'm betting you can't," Ryan said with a smirk. Shane nodded smugly behind him.

Steven rolled his eyes and smiled, then turned his gaze back to the camera, "and so here we are, in the Big Apple today to prove them wrong! But there's a twist. The restaurants we are visiting today are also supposedly haunted, and these two losers," he said, wagging a thumb at them, "have to spend the night. It's the Unsolved Worth It crossover you've all been waiting for!"

"I'm excited," Andrew said, then turned from the camera to cast a look at the others, "how about you two? What's it like camping out in those creepy places?"

Ryan grinned, "being honest? Terrifying. Like, you never know if we'll encounter an entity that inhabits the places we visit, or if it's gonna be hostile or something."

Shane pointed a skeptical look at the camera and proceeded to shake his head.

"Have you ever investigated a haunted restaurant before?" Andrew continued. Shane gave the answer, "not specifically, but when we went to London we did check out the Viaduct Tavern. Not exactly a restaurant, but the beer was pretty good."

"We didn't spend the night though," Ryan chimed, "this is going to be a first for us."

Shane chuckled, looking back at the camera again, "I'm sure Ryan's gonna have a good time," his lips then pulled into a smirk, looking over at Steven, "as for me, I'm just here for the food and the fifty bucks you're gonna lose."

"You're the ones who're gonna be paying for our food, ghoul boy." Steven returned confidently. Ryan then faced Steven, a challenging grin reflecting back, "oh, it's on!"

Steven grinned at the camera, the sound of the incoming train car echoing down the shaft. Closing up the segment, he finished, "train's here. Alrighty, lets goooo!"

The four then proceeded to line up and board, Adam tailing them, camera rolling. Once everyone was successfully in the train car, Adam pressed the button on his hand cam, grinning up at the rest of the group, "okay, I think that's good. I'll record more B footage as we travel there," casting his eyes to Ryan, he asked, "how far away are we?"

Ryan pulled out his phone, glancing at it briefly as he walked to one of the vacant seats and parked himself down, legs crossed, "got about an hour before we should make it there, provided the trains are running on time."

Adam nodded and proceeded to seat himself on the opposite bench across from him, closest to the car doors. Realizing the trek would take a while, Andrew, Steven and Shane decided to do the same, making themselves comfortable. Steven cast a look over at the ghoul boys, commenting, "so we are going to the expensive priced restaurant first, right?"

Ryan nodded, "yeah. Since they required a reservation, I figured in case it was busy for Christmas, it would be easiest to get that one out of the way first. Don't worry about the dress code, they told me business casual is acceptable so I think what we're wearing today is fine."

Steven nodded, "makes sense. We'll just have to edit around it to make it look like we went there last. How about the other two? They don't require notice ahead of time?"

Ryan squinted at him, a pause before stating, "I feel like telling you which one is expensive and which ones are cheap is like giving you hints."

Steven laughed, rolling his eyes, "well I suppose maybe they could be. But really, we should know for shooting purposes. We always say things like 'this next location is yadda yadda yadda', so if we are doing them out of order it would be odd to not include that."

Andrew smirked, adding his two cents, "yeah. I mean.. we still don't know the prices of the items you are having us eat, or even what is on the menu in the first place. I suppose you could say we are still... going into this blind."

Steven groaned, pinching his brow but a smile was pulling at his lips anyway, "ugh.. That was bad Andrew. Save it for the camera."

Shane wheezed as Ryan rolled his eyes at the comment, ignoring it, "alright then. Well, I'll let you guys know."

The short ghost hunter then proceeded to explain how the game would work, Andrew and Steven occasionally cutting in with various questions until a plan was formed. They then continued idly chatting until their train arrived at their stop and it was time for everyone to leave.

It was a good ten minute walk before the five had reached their destination, and upon seeing the place, Andrew glanced a look at the others before turning back to observe the outside.

The place looked simple and unassuming. Not very high end at first glance, but a quick look through the window told him otherwise. A beautiful bar that was inviting looking, facing a gorgeous lit fireplace. Farther back, he could see down the hallway which opened up to a dining area of sorts, and if he could guess, those looked like chandeliers lighting the ceiling. Andrew let out a small whistle, commenting, "I'm glad I chose the outfit I did today. I feel like anything less and I would be underdressed."

Shane stepped to stand next to him as the other three were chatting between themselves, "yeah, you guys made a good call. The website said business casual. This place looks a bit nicer than that if I am being honest."

Adam then waved the two of them over, "ok, I'm gonna get some panning shots of the building. Steven is gonna voice over in post. You guys head on in, I'll be right behind you."

Andrew nodded as Steven approached him with a grin, clapping his shoulder as he walked by to enter. That traitorous heat began to fill Andrew’s chest again as he remembered the fantasy from earlier about feeding Steven. Now having accepted his internal crush, it made him all the more aware. Pulling his mind away as sharply as he could, he followed him in the door to see a nicely dressed lady standing behind a reservation desk. Steven was already speaking with her.

She turned her eyes to Andrew in a greeting, a smile at the corner of her lips, "welcome to One if by Land, Two if by Sea. I understand you guys are here to film a YouTube show?"

Just as she finished her sentence, Ryan and Shane walked in, shortly followed by Adam.

"Yes. My name is Ryan Bergara and I booked a reservation with you for five o'clock?" he said.

The lady proceeded to look at her notebook before glancing back at the group, smile bright, "yes, I see that here. We already have a booth prepared for you, and I am to understand that our guests today will not be informed of the dish that was selected, as part of the show?"

Ryan nodded, explaining, "that's correct. I looked up your menu and already decided what these two are going to be taste testing today. The idea is that they will be tasting it blind, so they are not allowed to know what I chose until after they've eaten."

The lady nodded in understanding, her bright smile turning amused. She turned back to her book, writing something down before replying, "alright. I'll inform the chef that you have arrived. Please follow me to your table."

She then turned with a wink and led the group further into the building, walking past many of the nicely prepared tables, until they arrived at a neatly tucked away booth closer towards the back entrance.

Pulling into the corner, Steven and Andrew took their seats next to one another, Ryan, Shane and Adam sitting in chairs on the opposite side. Shortly after everyone was settled, the head chef came over to their table to greet them.

"Hello gentlemen, welcome to my restaurant. I'm Chef Gary Volkov. I've got the dish ready for you both sitting in the back."

"Thank you very much sir. We'll be recording momentarily. Do you mind giving us a small interview before we eat?" Steven asked. The man nodded.

Raising his camera, Adam spoke. "Ok, are you guys ready?"

"I'm good." Andrew said. Steven nodded with a thumbs up. The chef nodded as well, and then Adam pressed the button nodding back, camera rolling. "So we are here today with Chef Gary Volkov who's going to be giving us a bit of history about the building and the story. So, what's the deal with this place? I'm told it's haunted."

Volkov grinned at his guests, explaining, "this restaurant was originally a carriage house built in 1767. It has a complex history tied to one of the most controversial figures in early American history. When Aaron Burr was Attorney General of the State of New York during the 1790’s he housed his coach and horses here. He eventually ended up owning the place.

Burr went on to become a powerful member of local and federal government making many enemies along the way – particularly Alexander Hamilton, a war hero and first american secretary of the Treasury. The two of them really didn't get along, and had many arguments between them. Hamilton stated publicly that Burr was a dangerous man, not to be trusted with the government, and when Burr lost the election, he blamed Hamilton for it.

On July 11, 1804 the two of them met in a duel on a grassy field in Weehawken, New Jersey where Burr ended up killing him. As a result of Hamilton's death, Burr ended up losing all of his political power. He also lost most of his New York property, including the carriage house. He died an angry unhappy man. Since Aaron Burr's death, many have reported hearing footsteps walking the halls.

One of the restaurant’s maitre d’ quit after she was shoved up and down the stairs every night by unseen hands. Picture frames sometimes tilt by themselves. Occasionally some of our equipment turns on by itself. Lights would flicker; and plates go flying sometimes. Some of our staff even claim to be pushed by unseen forces. The staff have even tried to appease the spirits by attempting to serve them in the restaurant occasionally, but we're not sure if it's helped any."

"Creepy," Steven said, "well, I can say that I am glad that I'm not the one who's going to be staying the night here. Speaking of which, we are now going to try a dish selected by the ghoul boys, Shane and Ryan. We have no idea what it is. So how's this gonna go down?" Steven asked them. Adam panned the camera to the two sitting beside him as Ryan began to explain.

"Well, Shane and I brought a little gift for you both," he said, pulling out and dangling the blindfolds, swinging them lightly back and forth. Adam focused a close up on the silky fabric before turning back to the others, the short man continuing,

"We already selected the food you guys are going to be tasting. The rules are exactly what I said before: You both need to be able to tell me what the dish is that you are tasting, as well as be able to pick out at least five different ingredients or things about the dish each."

Andrew nodded as the man continued to explain, "you can't both say something like, salt for example. The five you name have to be different from each other. Once you both have decided, you have to then guess the price. You can take the blindfold off and Shane and I will tell you how much you got right and if you got anything wrong."

"If you are any more than fifteen dollars off when guessing the price of the dish, the point goes to me and Ryan," Shane said, "And if you can't at least be able to guess five things each, that point goes to us as well, one for each of you."

"Basically, three points so you guys can only afford to be wrong about one thing," Ryan said.

"Alright. I'm ready. How about you Steven?" Andrew asked, turning to his best friend with a confident smile. A small blush dusted his cheeks in spite of himself and Andrew then turned, reaching over and taking the offered blindfolds as Steven replied with confidence, "oh, I'm ready. Let's do this!'

Handing Steven one of the silky fabric pieces, the two made eye contact, putting them on together. The chef then took his leave to grab the dish the two of them would be trying, bringing it back out and setting it down between them.

Andrew couldn't see anything. However, the first thing that hit him was the smell. It was rich and meaty. Kind of sweet and savory. Steven's voice came to his right,

"It smells very rich. I can tell this is a meat dish."

Andrew was then handed a fork, which had a slight weight to it on the tip. Judging by Steven's movement beside him, he was probably handed one as well.

"Mystery food-cheers!" The man said jovially, as Andrew then held his fork in the direction of the sound.

"Ok, just.. lets go slow so we don't accidentally drop it on our nice clothes."

Instead of their forks touching, the two had missed each other, bumping their hands awkwardly instead, but nothing seemed to fall off the forks luckily. Then, letting the weight guide him, he lifted the utensil to his mouth and took a bite.

It tasted beefy, but more buttery smooth than beef. It also had a slightly different flavour profile than beef and was very rich. He could taste a sweet caramely flavour mixed with a hint of lime to compliment it. Steven was the first to speak.

"The flavours meld together really nicely. A brilliant combination of sweet and savory... and that texture. Andrew! Get a load of that texture. The first thing I taste is like.. Caramel. But like, beefy, though I can tell it's not beef. It's much too soft to be beef."

Andrew nodded, even though he knew Steven couldn't see him, "I know.. it's like.. You get that acidity with the hit of lime. It's like, a lime foam that washes over your tongue like a blanket that mixes with that sweet caramel taste, wrapping around the meat.. That's my first flavour. There is lime foam."

Steven's voice agreed with a hum beside him, clearly enjoying, "Mmmhmm. In fact.. I am going to say that cream went into making this, because the caramel sauce is very creamy."

The two blindfolded men continued to go in for a few more bites, analyzing the dish. At a couple points, their forks clinked together as they took apart the aspects of the dish they were eating.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here, for once pun not intended," Andrew said with a smirk in Steven's direction, "and guess that this is foie gras.  I've only had it a handful of times, but I remember it being this tender and soft, but the beefy buttery notes stood out to me when I had it. If it wasn't for the texture, I would think that this was cow and not duck."

Then the two encountered something crunchy on the plate, crispy on the outside. Andrew popped whatever it was into his mouth with his hands, unable to stab it accurately with the fork.

Suddenly he was hit with a chewy sugary dough that he knew right away was a churro. It complimented the caramel sauce really well.

"This tastes like a churro without the cinnamon sugar."

Steven made another sound, "MMHMM!" swallowing audibly before speaking, "that's exactly what that is! So, eggs and flour and white sugar went into making this, and it was deep fried."

Before long the dish was finished, the boys grinning in the direction of each other.

"You know.. I think I want to eat all my meals blind. It's like I can taste it more," Steven began to say.

"Well they do say that happens when you remove one sense from someone that their other senses get stronger," Andrew agreed. Then Ryan's voice in front of them asked, "ok, fancy boys. How much do you think this costs?"

"Well.. I'm almost positive that it's foie gras, and it was made really incredibly well. I'm gonna say at least a hundred bucks," Andrew assessed. Steven then chimed in next to him,

"Yeah, I'm going to agree with Andrew. It's probably close to one hundred dollars, though we are mostly low balling here."

The two then removed their blindfolds to see Ryan looking a little miffed in his chair. Shane shrugged a smile, nodding to them, "well you got it right. It was foie gras. The menu item is the three course prix fixe which values at $109. The lovely chef agreed to let you taste one of the appetizers for free, so we decided on that one for you both to try."

Ryan then piped in, "I thought it would be tricky. Well, the bet still isn't over. We still have two other places to visit. Also, it wasn't a caramel sauce, though you both were close. It was dulce de leche with a lime foam."

"Ah ok," Steven said, Adam then turning off the camera. As the two put down their forks, the chef came out of the kitchen, a smile on his face, "How was it boys? Did you enjoy?"

"Very much so, chef. The meat just melted like butter in your mouth, it was so good."

"I'm glad to hear it." He then turned to Ryan and Shane, "and you two are going to be coming back after we close to spend the night. Trying to catch the ghost of Mr. Burr, yes?"

"That's the plan," Ryan said, "thank you very much for having us and letting us do this."

"It was my pleasure, gentlemen. Please feel free to come back anytime."

 

All five of them nodded as the chef bid them a good evening, and the group then made their way out of the restaurant. As soon as they breached the door, Ryan pulled out his wallet, grabbing one-hundred and fifty dollars and handing it to Steven with a grumble.

"Oh, why thank you Mr. Bergara," he said with a smirk. Ryan flashed a challenging look back.

"Oh, I am just giving that for you to hang on to for now. You'll be handing that back to me and Shane after the next location."

"I'll be sure to keep it warm for you," Steven said with a chuckle. "So now it's 50$ per location per person?  I'm okay with that. So, when do we hit up the next one anyway?"

Ryan turned to Shane as the taller man added his two cents, "well, since I know Ryan wont be getting much sleep tonight, and as a result that means I wont be either, it would probably be a good idea to take tomorrow as a day of downtime."

"Hey, if we get murked in our sleep tonight, I'm blaming you, dude."

The two then began to bicker before Andrew cut in, "I'm good with taking tomorrow off. I kind of wanted to hit the ice rink at some point."

The man cast Steven a glance, wondering to himself if he knew how to skate, or if he even wanted to come with him. Thoughts of the two of them lazily skating around the rink near Radiocity floated through his head as his mind began to wander. Realizing where his thoughts were straying, he pulled them away sharply and returned his gaze back to Ryan and Shane.

"Alright then, that works." Shane finished, "we should probably get back to the hotel. Ry and I need to get our equipment for tonight anyway."

Andrew nodded before glancing at Steven, who was speaking with Adam as he panned the camera around a couple more times for shots. Turning back to Ryan, he held out the blindfolds but Ryan shook his head.

"No. You two hang on to them. You're gonna be needing them after all." Ryan smirked, his face filled with challenge as Andrew simply nodded. He then made his way over to his other friends just as they were wrapping up.

"Alright, we're heading back. Did you two want to watch more movies tonight?"

Adam shook his head, "Naw, I actually want to get a head start on editing the footage from today if that's alright."

Steven shrugged and then turned a bright grin to Andrew, "guess it's just you and me tonight, Drew."

Andrew inwardly gulped, but smiled back, "yeah… heh I guess so."

Then the group all made their way back to the trains.

The day went well, Andrew thought to himself inwardly. He just had to make it until the end of this trip. Sure, he and Steven would be hanging out alone tonight, but that wouldn't be any different to the other times they did. He just had to play it cool.

Everything would be fine. Crush or not, everything would be just... Fine.

***


	6. Practise Run, Remember the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Steven do a practice run for the next location of the challenge along with a little bit of self reflection of both of their parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! After the revamp this one is even shorter now.. oops. But it's cleaner because my beta is the best. <3 Thank you Ridge for helping me!
> 
> As always as well thank you all so much for all the comments and kudos you been throwing at me. I love you all!

"We should order room service."

Steven's voice sounded from the other bed looking up from his phone, a grin as bright as the sun spread wide across his face.   

They had arrived back at the hotel about an hour ago, fresh fifty bucks each in hand. As soon as they were back in the room, Andrew turned on the TV and changed out of his nicer clothes into something more comfortable. Steven grabbed a shower before he did the same. 

Andrew was on the bed, channel surfing when Steven walked out of the shower.  With a warm smile, he wandered over to his bed and sat down on the soft cushion. He opened his phone to browse social media for a little bit.   After some time and many Instagram posts later, he began to feel hungry again.

Andrew turned to look as the words left Steven's mouth; his fingers drummed on his leg, the remote in his other hand while he considered the proposal. The low hum of the television droned on; an episode of Chopped playing out that he settled on after surfing for a bit. He stared at Steven, who seemed to watch as he thought about it.

Andrew nodded, smiling back as he felt his stomach grumble a bit. "Yeah.  I could go for some food actually. What did you have in mind?"

Steven's own blinding smile turned mischievous.   Andrew knew that look.

"Ok,  _ what _ ," he deadpanned.  

"Weeellll... I was thinking," Steven said. He turned his eyes to the ceiling in an exaggerated thinking motion, fingertip on his lip, "I could maybe surprise you."  His gaze returned to Andrew with a glint.

Andrew raised an eyebrow.

Steven reached over and began rifling through the end table wordlessly.  Andrew remembered putting the blindfolds away when they arrived back at their hotel. A moment passed before his voice chimed in victory, "A-HA!" He turned back to him, his blinding grin accompanied by his own brow arched in a silent question, two silk blindfolds hung by their strings off of his nimble fingers.

"I was thinking we could do a little practice session.  Ya know... for the next location. I figure it could be fun."

Andrew paused, eyes flicking between Steven and the blindfolds.  As he spoke, the fantasy from earlier flashed through Andrew's mind for the second time that day;  _ Steven, this time on the bed, blindfold on, moaning against a spoon or fork at whatever it was he was tasting. _

Andrew blinked, willing his cheeks not to heat.   _ Control yourself! _

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he managed to keep his voice steady.   Steven's mischievous smirk melted back into a jovial grin.

"Awesome!  You wanna order or should I?"

Andrew shrugged, then had an idea of his own. He suggested they both order at different times so that each got a chance to practice.  After a brief round of rock paper scissors, it was decided that Steven would order, which meant Andrew would be the one to guess first.

"I guess I'll grab a shower now so that way I won't hear what you're getting me."

Steven nodded, reaching for the little card by the hotel phone that had a menu of the various items available.  He glanced down at it as Andrew swung his feet off the side of his bed.

Reaching into his luggage for his pajamas since they probably wouldn't be going anywhere else tonight, Andrew asked, "So the rule is that I have to guess five different ingredients and then ballpark the price of the item, but I can't be off by more than fifteen dollars?"

Humming, Steven's eyes rose to meet Andrew’s before saying, "Well, room service is a lot less money so I think the leeway on price should reflect that.  You can't be off by more than three dollars. Does that sound fair, Drew?"

A smile played at the corner of his lips as Andrew nodded.  Food was always either a game or an experience whenever it came to the two of them, so this would be fun, Andrew thought to himself.  Turning towards the washroom, Andrew closed the door behind himself and turned on the shower.

He looked at himself in the mirror as the water heated up, the day’s events playing out in his head again.  

It wasn't so bad.  Sure, the crush was there, but the day had been surprisingly normal in spite of that revelation. Even if he had only had said revelation this morning.  Returning to New York hadn't been as painful as Andrew had worried about either.  

Tomorrow he would even get to skate again at his home rink, which he was really excited about since it had been practically forever.  The smile on his lips widened further as Andrew turned back to the shower, holding his hand under the spray to test the temperature.

Stepping in, he closed his eyes and continued to muse.   

He wondered if Steven knew how to skate as well.  He pictured the rink and how much peace it used to give him to skate figures in his downtime.  

Suddenly, flashes of him and Sarah flitted through his mind as memories invaded him involuntarily.  A frown settled on his lips. He met her through his skating-- He was doing figures when she approached the barrier to compliment him.

Suddenly, he was brought back to New Years again,  _ "I can't continue to do this. I'm sorry. It's over." _

Andrew opened his eyes.  

No, he was here to make new memories.  

The heat from the shower relaxed his muscles as he leaned against the walls still deep in thought.  Turning his eyes to the side, they caught that infamous bottle of shampoo. Various memories of Steven floated through his mind, replacing the sour image of his ex upon seeing the pink and white bottle.   

_ Steven curled beside him on the plane. _

_ Steven looking at him with his head slightly cocked to the side, expression odd and hard to read, "If it were you, wouldn't you be scared too?" _

_ Steven watching Ryan looking a mix of cocky and confident, his smile bright like the sun. _

_ And finally, Steven chuckling almost fondly at Andrew as he knelt down to put on his shoes, the shorter blonde sheepish from accidentally using said shampoo bottle, "oh, that's ok, Drew. I have plenty to share, I don't mind." _

Andrew reached for the container, picking it up.  

**_I have plenty to share, I don't mind_ **

Andrew turned it out onto his hand and proceeded to lather it in his hair. The scent of banana filled the air like the steam. Steven said using it was ok.   A smile once more settled on Andrews' lips.

***

Andrew opened the door to find Steven -- now sitting on his bed -- back pressed against the headboard, one knee raised and the other leg flat.  A pen and paper laid beside him as he was once more scrolling through his phone. He looked up, their eyes met and a smile spread across his face, Andrew echoed it involuntarily. "The food should be here pretty soon the lady said,"  Steven grinned.

Andrew wandered back to his suitcase to put away the used clothes from earlier, bending over. "Great.   What's the pen and paper for?"

"So I can tally points.  I got us a few things so you can practice on more than one.  We can't have the ghoul boys beating us after all."

Andrew rose back to his full height and turned around with a warm smile when he finished packing. "No, we certainly can't."

The two held each other's gaze as a moment of silence fell between them, soft smiles reflected off one another before Steven spoke. "You know, Drew..." his voice was soft; contemplative.  Andrew took a step forward towards the bed, the weight of the moment forming that small familiar flutter in his chest that he continued to ignore. Andrew's smile turned curious as he waited for Steven to continue. "... Even if we don't win the bet…”  Steven's eyes looked away from him, cast to his hands as he spoke, small and shy, "... I'm really glad you decided to come."

As he was speaking, Andrew could feel as the blush began to heat the apples of his cheeks as his heart fluttered slightly faster in his chest, now harder to ignore.  He could feel a warmth spread all over as, once more, the involuntary smile from earlier returned to his lips. He knew Steven was just being friendly. Gripping his emotions as best as he could, Andrew replied, "... It's not a problem, Steven.  I'm glad we're doing this too."

Steven looked up at him but his expression was once more unreadable. An echo of the one he had during their shopping trip; the same one Andrew had remembered during the shower.

_ If it were you, wouldn't you be scared too? _

Andrew remembered that there was something in the statement that at the time he couldn't parse.  That expression...

_ 'That's not what he means,' _   Andrew's inner monologue provided.  It was shortly followed by  _ 'he just sees you as a friend,’ _ and  _ 'don't read into it.' _

The pause dragged out only a moment longer before Steven opened his mouth as if to clarify something,

"..Drew, I ---"  suddenly a knock interrupted him.

Both their eyes turned to the door.

Looking back over at Andrew, Steven's expression melted back into that fond smile, no trace of whatever was on his mind before.

"Room service is here.  I'll get the door, you put the blindfold on."

Steven's grin widened as he handed Andrew the silk mask, the moment from earlier completely gone.   Whatever it was he was going to say seemed to have been forgotten.

Andrew paused before nodding, taking the blindfold from him as Steven added in almost an afterthought,  "once we're done this little trial run, did you want to maybe put on a movie? It'll be like old times, just you and me."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," he replied.

"Awesome," Steven said in his usual jovial tone as he got up off the bed and headed towards the door.

Turning from him, Andrew proceeded to slide the soft silk mask over his eyes, blocking out the light of the room.  The smell of warm food immediately met his nose as the door was opened and he heard Steven thank the man and inform him to put the total on his card. The sounds of footsteps on carpet came closer, followed by a smell of what could only be described as fast food; that warm, slightly greasy, cardboard/brown paper bag kind of smell growing stronger as he approached.

Andrew felt the bed dip as Steven clambered closer, followed by the heat of a plate or tray or something being set down next to him.  He could feel his presence sitting to his right as usual. Andrew smiled.

"Ready, Drew?" Steven's voice was close, closer than Andrew anticipated as he felt the sharp scent of cheese and tomato hit his nose as well as heat from whatever was being held in front of him.

"Yeah, I am,"  Andrew replied, then opened his mouth for Steven to feed him.

There was a wordless understanding between the two of them whenever it came to food.   This was far from the first time Steven had fed him. Many times, on many shoots, and even sometimes when the camera was not present and it was just the two of them sharing something they mutually enjoyed, one of them would exclaim, "oh man, Drew you need to try this!"  or, "hey Steven, this is amazing! Have a taste!"

It would happen so often the response was almost automatic -- Steven held food in front of Andrew's mouth, Andrew opened his maw for him to taste.  The fact that neither of them needed to verbally explain how it worked was a testament to how well they could read each other. It extended to even when one of them was blindfolded it seemed.

That fact was not lost on Andrew as he took a bite. Steven placed the morsel in his mouth with a satisfied chuckle.

As soon as it hit his tongue, Andrew identified what it was.  He had a feeling from the smell alone, but tasting it confirmed his thoughts.  Steven spoke before he got a chance to say anything, "I wanted to start off easy.  Tell me, Drew, what is this? I know you know."

Chewing, Andrew smiled in the man's direction before swallowing, "Pizza.   _ Obviously _ .   Pepperoni, mushroom and sausage.  Maybe extra cheese? I haven't had enough to tell."

A resounding laugh and the bed bouncing a little was the response Andrew received as he could hear the scrape of a pen on paper - Steven logging his progress probably.

"Yes, exactly right.  Now for the fun part. Pizza, as you know from the various places we have been over the years, New York included," Steven chuckled again, "can have varying price depending on where it's purchased.  Judging from the flavour and quality of the pizza here, what would you say the price is?"

Andrew held his hand out in a silent request to hold a slice himself, now knowing what he was tasting.   Steven complied and placed the warm slice into his hand.

It was thin, but not super long or wide-- so it couldn't be one of the New York style slices he had tried before, as those tended to be so large you would typically fold them in half to eat.   Holding it back up to his mouth, he took another bite. The dough had a chew to it, and the cheese pull was nice and clean. It definitely was extra cheese, now that he was eating it more. It kind of tasted like Domino’s, now that he had ahold of the flavour in his head.  Swallowing, he made his second assessment.

"This tastes like Domino’s.   So I am gonna ballpark and say this is a ten dollar pizza -- provided you got the small."

"Ohh-ho and he guesses the brand in one go!   Nice one, Drew - ding ding you got it right! Though, it cost me around fifteen actually.  I'd still argue you won though, since you were even able to guess which place I ordered from."

"I thought you were getting room service,"  Andrew replied with a smirk, taking another bite, “Also you said you got more than one item.”

"I wanted to surprise you. Besides, I figured it would look weird if we ordered it twice and I also didn't want to risk them coming to the door and reciting what I requested while you were close enough to hear it. The notepad and pen were just a red herring."

Nodding, Andrew reached for the back of the blindfold, pausing only to ask, "So can I take this off now, or are there any other surprises for me?"

"You can take it off," Steven said, a light laugh under his breath.

Sliding it down, he looked over at his best friend, their eyes meeting with a grin. Steven, once more, looked almost shy.  Andrew motioned towards the box, "that wasn't much of a trial run."

Steven shrugged, glanced away. "I wanted pizza," he said, before reaching for a slice of his own.

Lifting it up, he tapped it against the slice Andrew held with a wink, "cheers!"  Andrew rolled his eyes, the smile still present in spite of this, before taking another bite just as Steven did.

"Thish is exacshly what I wahsh craving," Steven said through chewing, a contented hum following as he swallowed.  After another pause, Steven leveled his gaze at Andrew, speaking softly, almost nostalgic.

"You know… I was thinking about the first episode of Worth It we did together.   We've been friends for what feels like forever now, Drew."

Andrew looked over, still munching away as Steven continued and occasionally took bites of his own piece.

"It's hard to believe that the one episode which Keith was unable to be part of would have lead to all this… All because of a few slices of pizza."

Steven took another bite and turned his gaze towards the television.  The host of the show had his hand over the metal plate cover as the TV cut to a commercial before they revealed who was chopped.  Andrew sat and thought about it. Steven seemed grateful for their friendship - he had said as much earlier that they were together for this trip.   

Maybe just for tonight he could pretend that it meant more. He knew Steven didn't feel the same as him.   Part of that bothered him more than he would like to admit.  But in the way the Steven spoke, there was just.. something in the air that evening.  Maybe it was the pizza. Andrew didn't know, or really care at that moment. A belated thought occurred to Andrew that Steven was right.   _  'If it were you, wouldn't you be scared too?' _ He had asked in that unreadable expression.  

_ You have no idea how true that statement is. _

They turned their attention back to the TV, Ted Allen announced the Chopped Champion as Andrew scooted up towards the headboard, grabbing the remote.   It was probably best if he didn't think too hard about things. It would only serve to ruin the evening. Smiling at his co-host, Andrew spoke, "So. Movie?"

"Your pick,"  Steven replied as he moved to sit next to him, the pizza box sitting off to the side.

Steven laid his head on Andrew’s shoulder. Andrew could once more smell the scent of banana and coconut as Steven tucked himself in close; a mirror of the position the two shared while on the plane ride over.  Quietly, he wondered if Steven could tell that he used the shampoo again that evening.

Focusing his gaze on the TV, he pulled his thoughts away from that.   

They were friends and nothing more.  But if he closed his eyes and didn't think too hard about it, he could pretend for now.

***


	7. Steven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven reflects on his life leading up 'Worth it', as well as his relationship with Andrew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I am so sorry for that long wait. A lot of things happened - I had surgery which literally wiped me out both mentally and physically. I took a trip around the country a week after I got out of surgery (not the smartest idea but I kind of was forced) and now I finally am back with a chapter for you all.
> 
> Now we get to have some Steven POV so enjoy. I hope the wait was... worth it haha.
> 
> \--Revamped a bit thanks to my beta who is amazing and you all need to go read her work--

Steady breathing. The rise and fall of the chest he found himself still pressed against, late into the early hours of the morning.

Steven sat thinking, the whistle of the wind blew against the window as the light from the television cast a dim blue glow upon himself as well as his best friend's face.

_ 'It's funny,' _ he thought quietly to himself.  

The TV droned on, Andrew fast asleep; he’d passed out midway through their third movie.  Steven had only realized when he made a quip about the show that was met with silence. He cast his gaze to the face of the man he was cuddled against, only to see his eyes closed, out cold.

Steven snuggled back into the groove beside the man, deciding to let himself be selfish for once.  

The last two weeks were a whirlwind in his life, silently trying to find the answer that he was honestly afraid of learning.  The move to New York had hinted at it, but being back in LA and spending time with his friends and co-workers had pretty much confirmed what he was worried about:   _ It wasn't going to go away _ .

A small snore escaped Andrew as he shifted unconsciously in his sleep, tucked his arm tighter around Steven.  He smiled warmly, savouring the moment.

Steven was not typically a selfish person.  He was usually the first one to give his seat to someone who needed it more on the train.  Before Buzzfeed, he often was the one to take other co-workers shifts when they came to him because they suddenly couldn't work for whatever reason.   The Bible taught him to think not of what others could do for him, but of what he could do for others.  _  Give of yourself and life will reward you _ .  That was the lesson in everything.

And life  _ had _ rewarded him.  Truly. But everything has a cost. Sometimes, in order to gain something, you must give something else up.

He never intended for it to turn out like this.  When the Try Guys’ work schedules became busier, Keith had to make a choice, and as such, Steven was left without a co-host.

Thinking about who could replace the man, Steven's mind ran through various colleagues at Buzzfeed before landing on Andrew.  He knew Andrew was a foodie, so with a confident smile, he approached him, camera on, and simply said,  _ "my bestie Keith can't do the episode with me... so I was wondering if you would be willing to go with me on a food adventure." _

Andrew had paused looking incredulously at him, his eyes darting between the camera and Steven, before responding, _ "so I'm just like… your back up? _ "  

Sidestepping the question, the taller man grinned and threw an arm around him before explaining what it was he had in mind.  At the mention of pizza, Andrew decided he couldn't say no and the two of them were off without further questions.   

From there, the show had exploded into one of Buzzfeed's most popular series.  Everything was going great. Life had rewarded him.  

But then, that's usually when things would change.  Life would throw a curve-ball as it was always liable to do.  Which was probably why something came up to complicate things; like how Steven began to develop feelings for said new co-host.

Andrew didn't know; Steven kept quiet about it from the moment he realized, but only because he knew that he had to remain professional and tamp those feelings down somehow.  To indulge them would be incredibly selfish and Steven was not a selfish person.

_ 'Not usually…' _ He thought to himself quietly, feeling the press of Andrew's hand against his back.

Andrew continued to sleep peacefully beside him, his chest rising and falling in an even breath, a small smile at the corners of his lips.   Steven wondered mildly what the man was dreaming about, the movie the two had been watching completely forgotten in his tangent.

Steven never intended to fall.  It just sort of happened gradually.  His former girlfriend Ying was getting frustrated at the distance and had decided it was best that the two of them end things.  " _ We're heading in different directions in life _ ," she had told him.

He was heartbroken when she said it, but he knew it was true.  To chase his dreams meant to move to LA and away from her. Giving something up for the sake of that dream, just as the life lesson always taught him.

The night it happened, he ended the call with her to see a text sent from Andrew asking if he wanted to join him for a movie night that evening.   He thought about it and considered staying in. He and Ying literally just ended things and Steven wasn't sure if going out with friends was entirely appropriate given the situation.

After a moment of self-reflection, Steven figured that on the flip side, it wouldn't be very healthy to be alone considering what happened either, so instead of wallowing in his LA apartment that evening, he went to Andrew’s and was able to forget for a little while.

From there it began to slowly tip.  Little things -- coffees exchanged in the mornings between them.  Routine movie nights every Friday. Andrew began to cheers food even when the cameras were off, and THAT.   _ That _ seemed like a small gesture, sure, but oddly enough, it meant more to Steven than he would readily admit.  It wasn't long after that when the other shoe dropped and Steven realized: _ He had developed feelings for his best friend. _

As their work relationship grew into a close tight-knit friendship, it began to fill the hole in his heart that, being honest with himself, had started opening the day he left Ohio to chase his dream.  To fill one hole created another, and all the man had ever been searching for was happiness. Why did he always have to choose?

Steven continued to gaze up at Andrew's sleeping face, still tucked to the man's side, deep in thought.  He was beautiful. And if that didn't make everything just seem so unfair.

He knew the lessons.  He didn't even have to guess what would happen if he indulged, especially when he was almost certain that it was one-sided.  Between Andrew's hesitance to do the food cheers in the beginning, to complaining about Steven's typical disregard for personal space (even if it was mostly a joke for the camera now), he knew that if his co-host even caught slight wind that he had feelings, the show would be over faster than you could say 'Worth it' and he not only would lose the best job he's ever had but the best friend he’s ever had as well.  No matter what he did, Andrewcontinued to invade his mind, and when he found himself staring just a tad too long, that was when he decided he needed to do something drastic about it.  

That was why he moved to New York.

Steven reasoned that if the distance between Ying and himself had eased his feelings, perhaps it would do the same between him and Andrew.  Steven didn't count on the opposite happening.  _  What's that old saying again? Distance makes the heart grow fonder? _   In short, the man felt more lonely than ever upon moving.  The show was still as popular as ever, but no matter the bright smile on his face, and the optimistic façade he put on, deep down he missed LA.  He missed the old office. He missed his old apartment.

He missed  _ Andrew. _

In his reflection, Steven's mind wandered back to their impromptu trip to the mall.   He remembered the look in Ryan's eyes when the man thought about getting Shane a special Christmas gift and he couldn't help but muse to himself how similar their situations were.  

How many years had they spent dancing around one another, just the same as the ghoul boys, Andrew oblivious to him?  To  _ everything?   _

Falling into step beside him, with a small smile at the irony of it, he found himself saying aloud,  _ "I wonder when he's going to tell him."   _

Eyes darting to Andrew briefly, he turned his attention back ahead once more, watching the glass doors close behind the ghost hunter.  Their situation was similar, sure, but at least Steven was almost positive that Shane returned Ryan's feelings. For those two, it was only a matter of time.

He didn't expect Andrew to answer his musings.  So when the man did speak, the answer said was enough to give him pause.

_ "Knowing Ryan? Probably never.  Those two are going to continue to dance around one another until one of them finally steps on the other's toes, metaphorically speaking, causing them to trip into each other face first.  Until that happens, I don't think either of them is brave enough to take that risk. They're too scared to break the status quo." _

And that was what made him stop and question.  Was Andrew hinting at something? Steven had paused and hummed quietly, turning his eyes to the man once more, trying to puzzle out if he was reading things wrong between them or not.

Carefully, Steven had replied, _   "I suppose that makes sense...  I mean.. if it were you, wouldn't you be scared too?" _

His tone held something more, but his face was blank as the two finally approached the sliding doors and with that Steven decided it was probably better if he didn't wait to find out.  Because he  _ was _ scared.  He was scared of ruining everything he had worked so hard for.  

But the thought continued to linger.

Maybe Andrew was also scared to break their status quo.  Fear of the show being jeopardized. Fear of their friendship being ruined.  Maybe Andrew actually felt the same. But then, maybe he didn't.  

Steven blinked, pulling his thoughts back to the present.  As the movie finally came to a close, he turned his head to rest it against Andrew's shoulder again.  Tomorrow was a free day for them to just hang out and do whatever. His eyes cast to the bed across from them.  He knew that he should get up, go to his own bed to sleep, but the heat from the arm around his side, and the pull of his heart whispering that Andrew might secretly feel the same had Steven willing to take a risk.

He figured that if he just let the TV continue to bounce around the title screen all night, he could pretend that he fell asleep too, so if asked in the morning he could easily play it off.

It was selfish, sure.  But Andrew's words echoing through his mind had made him wonder.  Steven was not usually a selfish person.

What would it hurt to let himself be just this once?

***

The beep from a text was the first thing that roused him, Steven's phone sitting on the nightstand between their two beds.  

With a slight jump, eyes still shut in a grimace from the sudden noise, he slowly opened them, blearily.  The remains of sleep that still tried to cling to his mind were quickly dispelled by the awareness that he was still cuddled up next to Andrew on his bed.   His gaze fell to the TV that was still on, and the flashing blue light on his phone sitting five feet away from the two of them.

Andrew seemed stiff, his arm still draped around him though less pliant than it had been the prior evening.  His eyes were still closed and his breathing was even, but the rise and fall of it was just ever so slightly faster than it usually was during normal sleep.  If Andrew was awake, it was clear he was pretending not to be. Perhaps it was their closeness or the intimate appearance of their positions. Whatever the reason, it was clear that he was letting Steven decide how to approach the morning.

Steven took the cue and carefully removed himself from under the shorter man's arm, reached for his phone to check both the time and the message that had broken whatever spell the two of them were under that had them sleeping comfortably in each other's arms.

**_From: Adam Bianchi - 8:30am_ **

**Hey.  Just wanted to throw you two a text to say the footage from yesterday is great.  There are a few shots that I want to get your approval on. Just which ones to use, but overall this looks like it's shaping up to be a great episode.**

Steven sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes cast back to his co-host and crush who was still laying with his eyes closed.  Maybe he actually was sleeping? Turning his focus back to the phone, Steven set his alerts to silent and replied,

**_To:Adam Bianchi - 8:33am_ **

**That's great Adam! I look forward to seeing it.  Maybe tonight all three of us can go over the footage.  I think Drew wanted to go to Rockefeller Square today, but he's still sleeping.  I'll throw you a text when he gets up and we have a plan.**

Moments after he hit send, the reply came,

**_From:Adam Bianchi - 8:34am_ **

**Sounds good**

Steven closed his phone and set it back down on the nightstand, then proceeded to wander toward his suitcase to get dressed for the day.  He took one final glance at Andrew before he turned and bent down, carefully rustling around for an outfit to wear.

After another beat, he heard the bed behind him shift.   Andrew woke up.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Steven said, not turning around, "I'm sorry if my phone woke you.  It was just Adam saying the footage from yesterday was good."

If he didn't mention them sharing the bed, maybe Andrew wouldn't either.

"Mmm… yeah… that's good," came the groggy sleep-addled reply from behind him.

There was a comfortable silence as Andrew sat up further with a stretch. Steven turned and saw him reach for the remote to turn off the TV that had been on all night.

"Sorry for conking out on you," he said with a sheepish grin, "I guess the pizza kind of filled me and sent me into a food coma."

Steven grinned, "It's ok, Drew.  To be fair, we did have quite a bit to eat yesterday."

Andrew swung his feet to sit on the edge of the bed and watched as Steven wandered toward the bathroom, towel in hand.

"Yeah, but we never ordered room service to practice more," he said with a small frown. Steven waved him off.

"That's ok. Today is a free day, remember?  We can do another trial run tonight, if you like."

He smirked as he opened the door and stood in the entryway, then turned back to look at Andrew with amusement. "I'm betting both Ryan and Shane are going to be sleeping for most of the day today.  I read the reviews of that restaurant, normal guests often note supposed paranormal activity during the day. I can only imagine how much worse it would be investigating it alone at night. Shane'll be lucky if Ryan doesn't die of a heart attack."

Andrew chuckled as he slid off the bed and made his way towards his own suitcase with a grin, "that is, unless Shane murders the man himself for keeping him awake all night."

Steven laughed as he turned. He closed the door to the bathroom to wash up while Andrew found something of his own to wear for the day.  About thirty minutes later, both were clean and trying to decide what they wanted to do.

"I remember you saying at some point that you wanted to go to Rockefeller?"  Steven prompted. Andrew nodded with a grin. The sunlight was now cascading through the window as the morning grew late. Andrew reached for his bag and proceeded to pull out his skates, throwing an excited smile Stevens way.  His voice had a tinge of nostalgia to it as he explained, "Yeah, I did. They have a really nice ice rink that I used to skate at often when I was growing up. I figured it might be fun."

Andrew's smile was radiant and Steven couldn't help but echo it back to the man.  Looking down at his phone, Andrew added, "We should grab some breakfast. What time did you want to message Adam?  Do you think he would want to go?"

"To breakfast? Or do you mean Rockefeller?"

He shrugged as Steven reached for his phone to message him. He pulled up his texts and looked up at Andrew before typing. "He could meet us at the Starbucks and we can go from there maybe?"

Andrew nodded and said, "that works," before standing up from the bed.  He then slung his bag over his shoulder with a smile and wandered over towards the door.   Steven tapped out the message to Adam about their plans, and then the two made their way downstairs to the Starbucks, chatting idly along the way.  

The hotel was busy that morning with many people wandering about the halls.  The elevator down to the lobby was full as the two continued toward the coffee shop. Upon reaching it, the two breached the doors to see a giant line up to the counter.  

"Looks like it'll be a bit of a wait," Andrew said with a frustrated sigh.

Steven shrugged, smiling. "That's ok, Drew.  You go find us a seat, I'll grab the food and some coffees.  Adam should be down in a bit."  

Andrew nodded and turned, hiking his bag a little higher up his shoulder before scanning the shop for a vacant booth.  After a pause, he wandered off as Steven turned his attention back to the front of the line, gaze falling on their overhead menu.

Eventually, Steven finally approached the counter.

"Hi, what can I get for you?"  the barista asked.

"It's really busy today," Steven commented with a sympathetic look, "I think I'd better keep it quick and easy for ya.  This line up can't be fun. I'll have three grande True North's, one with room, the other two without and three lemon loaves please."

The lady smiled back gratefully and nodded, "would you like those warmed?"

Steven shook his head with a smile, "no, thanks."

As the lady nodded back in acknowledgment, she turned to the coffee dispenser and grabbed three cups, putting the labels on them.  Then she turned and asked, "Oh and could I get a name for these?"

Steven turned to see Andrew sitting at a booth towards the back, looking at his phone.  A soft smile came to his lips as he turned back to the barista, "... Drew. Make the one with room say Drew,  the other two are for Steven and Adam."

There was a pause as she nodded, then she flashed Steven with a knowing smile.   Writing the names on the cups, she proceeded to surround 'Drew' with a heart, winking before turning to grab the three lemon loaves.   

Steven felt his cheeks heat as he took the cups to the cream and sugar station and added a little cream to Drew’s cup, bringing them all to the same level.  He walked back over, and the barista handed the bags to Steven with a little wink. Steven nodded back in thanks, a light pink dusting his cheeks. He couldn't tell if she was flirting with him -- thinking his name was Drew -- or if she knew that he had a thing for his friend -- whose name  _ was _ Drew -- who he’d happened to gaze at before answering her.  

Steven picked up the tray and made his way toward the booth, trying not to mull over it too much.  That was when he noticed it. Sometime between when he was looking over to see Andrew and turning back to grab their food, a girl seemed to have approached the table.  As he made his way closer, he couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable look on his best friend's face.   

The girl tossed her head back in a laugh as Andrew proceeded to look sheepish.  It was at that point Steven began to come within earshot, close enough to just catch the end of their conversation.

"Really? Ahahahaha... I just…  _ Wow _ I can't.   Haha. It's a real pity you never moved on.  It's really funny, I think, how someone like you ever even  _ thought _ you had a chance.  And now you work for  _ Buzzfeed _ of all companies."

Steven didn't like her tone.   It was almost mocking. She turned as Steven reached the table, and threw a look to him before sneering back at Andrew, "oh. It looks like your little friend is back so I should get going. It was nice... seeing you... again, Andy."  She turned to leave, but flashed the two of them one last catty smile and said, "Merry Christmas."  

Andrew threw him a grateful look as he pulled in to sit next to his friend, clearly confused.

"Who was that?" Steven asked as he watched her walk off into the crowd.  He immediately didn't like her very much. Andrew cast his gaze down towards his hands, folded neatly on the table.

"... No one," he said, but his voice sounded small and sad.   At the comment, Steven's confused expression frowned into something somewhat angry.   He didn't know who that girl was, but clearly, she was someone Andrew was not friends with.  What confused him though, was that he didn't tell her off or make her go away. Normally Andrew was not afraid to put so-called 'fans' in their place when they were acting rude or saying mean things.   That led Steven to reason that Andrew probably knew the girl from somewhere.

"No one _ important, _ you mean," Steven said with a protective edge to his voice, "I don't know who that girl was, but clearly she must have done or said something to make you frown like that.   And that's just not allowed. No one makes my best friend upset like this."

Andrew looked up at Steven, his expression kind of lost only to see the man staring back at him with a determined and protective frown.  Steven continued, "If she comes back or if you see her again, you let me know, ok Drew?"

Andrew continued to look at Steven with an unreadable expression. Steven handed Andrew the cup labelled "Drew" with a heart around the name.  The man stared down at it for a moment just looking at the name. A warm smile melted the fretful expression he wore earlier.

"Thank you, Steven," he said quietly before taking a sip.

_ That's better, _ Steven thought to himself with a smile, he nodded back and took a sip of his own.   

It wasn't too much longer before Adam joined them and the group began to munch on their breakfasts, talking about the rest of the challenge.

"So I was thinking for our facts we throw in, since this 'Worth It' is about blindfolded and haunted places, we could do like… a fact based off the place we are at next. Like, "GHOST FACT!" or something. What do you two think?"

Steven shrugged and looked over at Andrew, "sounds good to me."

Andrew agreed with a nod, then took another sip of his coffee.  He placed the cup back on the table, and added, "we could maybe have Ryan read it in his 'Theory Voice'.  I bet the fans will love that."

Adam chuckled, nodding in full agreement, "I'll put that in my notes."

As they finished eating, the group then proceeded to make their way towards the ice rink in Rockefeller Square.  All the while, Steven stole glances at his best friend.  

He seemed ok,  was chatting with Adam excitedly as if the earlier interaction had never happened.  This trip was meant to be a fun time for them. But the frown on his face from earlier kept playing through the man's mind.

He didn't know who that woman was, but Andrew clearly did.  The protective thoughts began to flash through his mind as he continued to watch their conversation, a bright smile on Andrew’s face.

_ As there should always be, _ he thought to himself firmly.

One thing Steven was sure of.  He wouldn't let anyone make Andrew feel like that ever again.  With that, he made a mental note to keep an eye out for that woman again before falling into step between the two of them, on their way to the ice rink.

"Hey Drew,"  Steven said, echoing his smile, "tell me more about the last time you were here."

  
***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you all know how Steven feels. Next chapter is going to be back in Andrew's POV and you might get to see what the interaction with that woman was. I hope you all enjoyed. More to come soon and thank you all so much for your kudos, comments, bookmarks and wonderfulness. I love each and every one of you.


	8. Relationship Rehashing and Complicated Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a run in with his ex, Andrew is shaken. The group goes skating and he recounts his past to Steven. Steven makes sure Andrew knows what he's worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. I am so sorry for the long wait. HUGE shout out to LightningRidgeBlackOpal for helping me revamp the whole fic so it should read a lot cleaner. If you have the time and are incline to do so, go give it another read. <3 This one has been a bit longer, due to that. But to make up for it, it's one of my longest chapters.
> 
> We are getting close to the end now, folks. I hope you are enjoying the ride. Disclaimer: I know the rink at Rockefeller is an outdoor one, but for the purpose of this fic pretend it's not. Double-disclaimer: I don't actually know how to figure skate professionally, but I know a couple tricks. If this reads weird to you because you know how to skate and I explained how something works wrong I apologize.
> 
> Anyway, on with the story.

It was a crazy morning and he was still really tired.  Andrew hadn’t meant to pass out in the middle of their movie, but if he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t tell you at what point he went from being tucked beside his best friend lazily gazing at the television to actually losing consciousness and falling into sleep. But he snapped awake from the sound of a cell phone that was very much not his own, feet away from them, sunlight pouring through the window.  Strangely, Steven never mentioned anything about the fact that they shared the bed.   
  
He sat in the morning light, at a booth in Starbucks, waiting for Steven to grab them their coffee.  Adam would be joining them soon. As the thoughts floated through his mind, they landed on the ice rink that they would be skating at a little later on. His bag was weighty, his skates and guards packed neatly away, along with the water bottle he used back when he practiced regularly.  He hadn’t touched the ice in well over a decade and was excited to have the chance to let loose for a while. Being honest with himself, he missed it.   
  
The smell of coffee in the air carried around the shop, Andrew’s mind wandering when his eyeline settled on a woman who was walking away from the cashier, fresh coffee cup in her hand.  Something about her seemed familiar, her straight red hair contrasting against the black sweater she was wearing.   
  
As Andrew looked, their eyes met and a flash of recognition flitted through her own.  Suddenly, a slow smile spread across her lips as she raised a brow, walking his way.   
  
“Andy?” the woman said, and that was when it hit him.  Of all the people to run into, it had to be her. His back stiffened.  As she approached, a sudden wave of nervousness made its way down the back of his spine.   
  
“S...Sarah,” he answered, and the smile on her face turned snide. She walked up to the table and stood over him, hands on her hips.   
  
“Well, well! Fancy seeing you here, Andy!”   
  
The sound of the familiar nickname on her lips brought a sour feeling to the pit of Andrew’s stomach.  He hadn’t heard it in years. The last one to use it was her. His eyes glanced to Steven who appeared to be speaking with the barista before they returned to her, “it’s just for the holidays…Waiting for my friend to get back...” he replied.   
  
The holidays. Baggage. Why, whenever Christmas and New Years rolled around, did she always have to invade his mind and ruin what used to be his favourite time of year?  It seemed to happen without fail as soon as December would hit. Too many bad memories attached to it. He came back here to shoot the episode, sure, but the real reason was because he wanted to make  _ new  _ memories.  Memories with people who actually gave a shit about him. Memories with his real friends.  Memories with Steven.    
  
Her response was false pleasantries and the catty smile on her face appeared amused.   
  
“Oh? So little Andy has been away all this time.  That explains why Scott and I never saw you around after… Well.  I’m sure you already know. Christmas this year has been really busy.  Scott’s taking me to the Bahamas for New Years. Can you believe that? I’m really excited!” She grinned in that boastful way, as if she were rubbing it in. Perhaps she was.    
  
“I’m guessing you’re here to visit family for the holidays?” she continued.   
  
Andrew looked down at his hands, fingers folded, “work trip, actually,” he said quietly.   
  
She laughed, her tone mocking, “oh. So that ‘friend’ you’re waiting on isn’t a current girlfriend? I would have thought you’d want to spend the season with a loved one. Or are you really that incapable of getting anyone to actually date you?”   
  
Her voice was sharp and snarky; gloating.  Andrew frowned as mild irritation washed over the uneasiness she instilled in him.   
  
“ _ Actually _ ,” he said, looking up at her with heat, “I’m not really ready to be dating  _ anyone _ right now.  Ever since moving to California, Buzzfeed has been my primary focus.  It’s the only reason I would ever come back to this shitty state. I learned my lesson about people here; They can’t be trusted.” He threw her a pointed look before continuing, “So you’ll have to forgive me if I’m reluctant to give my heart and soul away to anyone so easily again.”    
  
The look on her face at the remark turned mocking, “Wow--  _ California _ ?  _ HA _ , what a coward!  Poor little Andy got sad because he couldn’t handle a break up. You know... there are many reasons why I chose Scott over you. For one, he was always the more outgoing one between the two of you.” She turned her head to look out the window as she spoke.  A happy couple passed by, the girls arms wrapped around her boyfriend’s, giant smiles on both of their faces. Sarah continued, as if in afterthought “...Also smarter.” She turned her attention back to Andrew, a look of pity in her eyes. “It’s just like you to be so mousy that you’d go and fly away to the other side of the country, all because you couldn’t handle seeing us together and happy.”   
  
The memory of her cold eyes on that New Years eve echoed through his mind, extinguishing the heat from earlier, replacing it with shame.  It was true; he flew to Cali to get away from them. He could make all the excuses he wanted, but in his heart he knew that that was the real reason.  She began to laugh as she continued, "I mean...Really? Ahahahaha... I just…  _ Wow _ I can't.   Haha. It's a real pity you never moved on.  It's really funny, I think, how someone like you ever even  _ thought _ you had a chance.  And now you work for  _ Buzzfeed _ of all companies."   
  
Her words were cutting.  The mocking tone of her laugh only furthered the uncomfortable nerves that rolled around in his gut.  It was at that point that Steven finally approached. Sarah turned, her eyes catching Steven’s, "oh. It looks like your little friend is back so I should get going. It was nice... seeing you... again, Andy."   
  
Steven didn’t look particularly happy, a frown pulling his lips.  She turned to leave, but flashed the two of them one last catty smile, "Merry Christmas."  

Andrew threw him a grateful look as he shifted in his seat.  Steven pulled in to sit next to him, his expression concerned.

"Who was that?" he asked, his attention shifting to focus on her retreating form.  Andrew’s mind was a whirl of emotions. That was a really loaded question.

Sarah was someone that he had been trying to forget from the moment he left Time Square all those years ago on that cold January morning.  Steven was obviously concerned if the frown on his face was any indication. He must have caught the end of the last conversation.   
  
Andrew’s mind was still running over her words.  It seemed like no matter what he did, she was always haunting him, floating through his mind at the slightest reminder. It was just his luck that he would run into her of all people when he returned to New York for the first time in years. 

Sarah no longer in sight, Steven turned his gaze back to him.   
  
"... No one," Andrew finally answered. He felt like such a coward. Sarah wasn’t wrong.  He had moved to California to get away from them instead of being mature and moving on. Adults faced their problems head on.  They didn’t run away. The shame in his belly began to twist as he stared down at his hands. Steven’s voice broke his dark rumination.   
  
"No one _ important, _ you mean," There was a protective edge to his voice, "I don't know who that girl was, but clearly she must have done or said something to make you frown like that.   And that's just not allowed. No one makes my best friend upset like this."

Andrew looked up at Steven, whose expression was determined, the corners of his lips downturned.  He continued, "if she comes back or if you see her again, you let me know, ok Drew?"

Andrew continued to look at Steven as his words sunk in, feeling the nerves in his belly untangle.  Steven then handed him a coffee, his expression melting into a warm smile. Andrew looked down at it.   
  
_ Drew _

There was a heart around the name.  He continued to stare down at it for a moment just looking.     


> _ Well, well! Fancy seeing you here,  _ **_Andy!_ ** **_  
>  _ ** _ So little  _ **_Andy_ ** _ has been away all this time. _ **_  
>  _ ** _ Poor little  _ **_Andy_ ** _ got sad because he couldn’t handle a break up. _

  
The nickname,  _ Steven’s nickname _ , stared back at him. 

**_Drew._ **

A warm feeling in his chest echoed the warm smile that melted the fretful expression he wore earlier. He wasn’t anyone’s ‘Andy’ anymore.

"Thank you, Steven," he said quietly before taking a sip.

Steven’s smile widened as he gave him a tight nod, taking a sip of his own coffee.  He then placed three brown bags on the table, each with a lemon loaf inside.    
  
Sarah may have been right about Andrew moving to the other side of the country just to get away from them, but at that point, he refused to let that moment in Time Square haunt him anymore.   He had real friends who cared about him. Sure, maybe Steven didn’t feel  _ exactly  _ the same as he did, but regardless of that, they were best friends. Steven had really wanted to do this work trip with him and he’d be damned if he would let his past baggage ruin that.  After everything, he owed at least that much to the man.   
  
The two made small talk while they waited for Adam, speculating about the food Ryan and Shane would have them taste for the second location as well as their plans for the day.  Eventually, Adam made his way over to the table and the three began to munch on their breakfasts, continuing to talk about the rest of the challenge. Shortly after, the group made their way to Rockefeller center.

Clear blue skies stretched above them as the building came within view.  As they approached, Andrew felt excitement thrum under his skin, memories floating about in his head.  The weight of his bag and the crisp chill of the air brought him back once more to the many times in his past when he’d passed through those doors for practice.  Truly, he missed it. A wide grin spread across his face as Steven’s voice echoed his thoughts: “This is gonna be fun!”   
  
Adam nodded with a grin of his own as Andrew flashed them both a giddy smile before racing ahead to the doors, opening them for his two companions.  With a chuckle under Steven’s breath, they made their way inside.    
  
It was exactly as he remembered it-- The smell of the ice, and the slight chill in the air; warmer than outdoors but still comfortable.  The walls were still the same colour, the tiled floor the same slightly dirty marble; salt from outside griming the entrance from the melting snow.   
  
Andrew led the way, his feet guiding him automatically towards the locker rooms before he realized that his friends probably needed to rent their own skates considering he was probably the only one of them who even owned their own pair, much less brought them with.  Turning his attention from his thoughts back to Steven and Adam, he bypassed the lockers and darted down the hallway with a grin, “The front desk is just down this corridor. You guys should be able to rent some skates and a locker there.”   
  
“That sounds good,” Adam replied, “I read online that admission here isn’t that expensive.”   
  
Falling into step beside him, Steven’s eyes fell on the bag that was slung over Andrew’s shoulder as they walked.  With a curious lilt to his voice, he stated, “You seem really familiar with the place, Drew. You must have come here a lot when you were a kid.”   
  
Andrew shrugged, “You could say that, yeah.”   
  
Before he had a chance to elaborate, the three finally reached the desk.  A familiar elderly man sat behind a computer when he turned his head to the three of them, offering a friendly smile.  His eyes met Andrew’s as he smiled back, “Hello, Mr. Jamison. It’s good to see you again.”   
  
Mr. Jamison’s smile widened, “Ilnyckyj! It’s been a while,” he said.  Andrew reached for his wallet and pulled out a twenty, handing it to him, “A few years at least, yeah,” he said, “I moved out of state a while back and we’re actually here on a work trip,”    
  
Stepping back from the desk, he motioned to his two companions who were pulling out their own wallets, introducing them.   
  
“These are my colleagues and best friends, Steven and Adam. They don’t have their own skates, so if you could set them up with a couple pairs that would be awesome.”   
  
Steven smiled at the man, handing him a twenty of his own, Adam doing the same.  “I’m a size ten wide, please.” he said. Adam echoed, “I’m an eleven.” Mr. Jamison nodded and turned from them, heading into the room behind him.   Moments later he returned with two sets of rental skates and handed them to both Adam and Steven before turning back to Andrew with a smile.   
  
“Okay, you should be all set.  The locker room is pretty much empty today, as the younguns won’t be by for practice ‘til later on this evening.  It’s good to see you again, Ilnyckyj.”   
  
Andrew smiled, “You too, Mr. Jamison,”  he then turned to his friends and they made their way back down the hall to the locker rooms, skates slung over their shoulders.

As they opened the door, Andrew’s eyes fell upon the cubby along the far left wall, a small dent marring the clean silver surface just above the slot where the padlock would go.  He wandered towards it and ran his fingers along the familiar concave, the memory of a fist crashing against metal in frustration at a less than productive practice session. At the time, he thought he’d never be able to master that jump.  It was the next day that he had proven himself wrong.   
  
That dent in his old locker was a reminder that he was always getting better, even when it looked like he was standing still.   Andrew turned to look at Steven who was now lacing up his skates on a nearby bench. He remembered the day that he met Sarah and the impressed undertone of her voice when he had landed that jump right in front of her.  He wondered what Steven would think if he were to do it in front of him. At the thought, a blush rose to his cheeks as he proceeded to turn around and open the locker, pulling his mind away from that train.   
  
Resting his bag on the inside of the cubby, he unzipped the front, grabbing his skates and water bottle before zipping it back up.  He then turned from the locker casting a glance at his two friends who were busying themselves with their skates. Turning back to the locker, he once more closed the door and ran his fingers along the dent again.  
  
He was always moving forward. Getting better. Stronger.  Steven believed in him. Sarah wasn’t in his life anymore.  He was about to engage once again in a hobby that he had missed dearly, and what's more, he was going to be doing it with the people who meant the most to him.  
  
Andrew smiled as he turned and wandered over to the bench Steven was parked at.  As he sat down and began to lace up his own skates, his eyeline darted to Steven’s feet, noticing the fit was off.  
  
“Make sure it’s laced up really tight, Steven,” He said offhandedly, looking down at his hands as he double knotted the lace, pulling them as taught as he knew, “Those skates are rentals, so they are not one hundred percent perfect for your foot shape. You don’t want to twist your ankle by accident.”  
  
He saw Steven nod in his peripheral, unlacing the skates only to pull them tighter and begin to do them up again. As he did this, he responded, “You really know a lot about skating, Drew.  Thanks for the tip.” Turning his head, Steven then called across the room to Adam who was sitting on the bench farthest from the door, making sure he got the memo as well.  
  
“Hey Adam,” he said, “make sure you lace them up tightly. Andrew says that rental skates are not as form fitting and if they aren’t laced tight enough, it’s possible to twist your ankle.”  
  
Adam nodded with a final tug, standing up and walking around the room to test the fit.  The three then made their way out towards the rink, Andrew’s bag safely locked away. The skates felt familiar as his feet walked the same path they did many years ago towards the barrier, the fresh smell of ice clean and crisp in the air.  
  
The rink was nearly empty with only a few stray skaters making laps around the outside as Andrew removed his guards and placed them on the rail near the entryway, stepping out on to the slick familiar surface.  
  
As he glided forward, Steven and Adam followed, placing their skate guards neatly beside Andrew’s own before making their way out towards the center of the rink.    
Andrew spun around, skating backwards as he watched his friends; Adam lazily skating clockwise laps around the rink. Steven choosing instead to slowly make his way towards Andrew.  
  
As their eyes met, Andrew flashed Steven a smile, crossing his legs back and forth as he continued backwards, beginning to pick up speed.  Steven smirked back, skating faster in chase of him when Andrew then rose both his arms, veering in a side skate, gliding cleanly now on one foot.     
  
In a practiced motion, Andrew swapped feet, the feeling of the dance returning to him like the well worn words of an old song; the motions familiar.  The rink was his home. Steven slowed as his eyes tracked him, Andrew now skating figures around the man, his own eyes slipping closed as familiar tapes in his head began to play.  
  
_A twist here.  A twizzle there.  Swap to the dominant foot.  Back again._   The memories echoed around him, a silent song in his mind.   He was skating faster now, the feeling of gravity tugging on him as Andrew transitioned into a spin, pulling his arms in tightly, his body twirling like a ballerina sped up.  His mind was calm as he ran through his old performance, feeling the well practiced motions flow through his body. He missed this.   
  
Breaking the spin, eyes still closed, he turned the blade of his skate to move outward, momentum regained as he now ran circles around an awestruck Steven.  As his speed built, Andrew glided along one foot, readying himself for the next part: a double toe loop. He could feel Steven’s gaze hotly on him as he moved, bracing his right leg for the launch.  Opening his eyes, he leapt into the air, spinning cleanly twice before landing and finishing with a slow spin and a final pose, hands held above his head. Suddenly, claps were heard from the others in the rink who had been watching, but they were drowned out by the cheer that emanated from his best friend shortly after the shock faded out.  
  
“WOW!” Steven shrieked with a beaming grin, wider than many Andrew had seen over the course of their friendship, “I knew you could skate but I had no idea you were that good!”  
  
Andrew felt the blush from earlier return as Steven skated up, a nervous chuckle escaping from him at the praise.  
  
“Thanks, Steven,” he said as he lowered his arms, “I had been taking lessons for a few years when I was younger.  In case you couldn’t guess, this used to be my home rink.”  
  
Steven was beaming, his eyes bright like the sun.  He was clearly impressed.  
  
“Man! You are so talented, Drew.  I could never even imagine doing anything like that.  You looked so cool!”  
  
As his best friend continued to gush, Andrew couldn’t help the smile that began to pull the corners of his own lips as a thought came to him.  
  
“Would you maybe like to learn a couple tricks?  It’s really not as hard as it looks.”  
  
The man’s eyes went wide at the suggestion, “Really?  You could show me how you do that?”  
  
“Sure.  I’ll teach you something easy that looks super impressive.  Do you know how to skate backwards at all?” Steven shook his head. “Okay, well we can start with that.”  
  
Andrew then put a couple feet of space between them, before standing with his feet evenly apart on the ice, arms raised at his sides for balance, “First, I’ll teach you something called a ski glide.  This is the basis for skating backwards. If you know how to ski this should be easy for you.”  
  
Steven mimicked the position as Andrew began to use his body weight to twist his hips back and forth, propelling himself forward, “it’s kind of like a hula hoop,” he continued, “you build a rhythm and with it you begin to speed up.”  
  
Steven, doing his best to mirror Andrew, jutted his hips back and forth as well, swerving forward just as Andrew did, “This isn’t so hard,” he commented.   Andrew glided a circle around him with a nod, “Nope. Once you feel like you have a good rhythm, you can try backwards. It’s the same thing, use your body weight and just alternate.”  
  
As he demonstrated, Steven did his best to copy, though he was a bit wobbly and stumbled, slipping and falling on his ass.  
  
“OUCH!”   
  
Andrew skated up, holding out a hand.  Steven reached out, taking it as Andrew helped pull him back to his feet, “That’s ok.  Not everyone gets it on their first try. Your feet were too close together and you weren’t distributing your body weight evenly so you lost your balance.”  
  
A pink blush dusted Steven’s cheeks that was not unnoticed by Andrew as he explained. He just nodded before answering, “I’ll try again.”  
  
Andrew stood a little closer this time watching as Steven did his best to propel himself backwards, though once more his feet slid a little too close together, causing him to go off balance.  Andrew reached for him, grabbing his hand before he fell, pulling him in.  
  
“Shit,” Steven cursed, though grateful for the hand holding his, “this really isn’t easy.”  
  
Andrew smiled, closing his eyes with a head shake, “It takes a bit of practice.  Your form is off.. Here let me show you.”   
  
The closeness of their proximity went unnoticed as Andrew dove into full teacher-mode, suddenly reaching down to put his hands on Steven’s hips, explaining calmly, while looking down at his skates, “do your best to keep your feet hip length apart.  Don’t be afraid to hold your hands out to aid your balance.” Suddenly, Steven’s voice was really close.  
  
“...Like this?” he said quietly, his arms up and out to the side.   Andrew looked up, suddenly realizing just how close Steven’s face was to his.  The pink on his cheeks and nose were quite red and Andrew couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from embarrassment that he fell.   A blush of his own settled on to his face as he answered back quietly, “...y...yeah. Like that.” Steven then slowly started to shake his hips to the left, then right, Andrew’s hands slipping off of them as Steven slowly skated away. As the distance grew, a slow smile did as well, their eyes locked on one another as Steven finally began to get it.  He began to pick up speed and settled into a backwards glide that he was able to maintain. Andrew followed him forward as the wide grin completely spread upon the lips of his best friend.  
  
“Drew! I’m doing it!” he called excitedly.  Andrew beamed proudly.  
  
“See? I told you it wasn’t hard.”  
  
As Steven continued to glide backwards, Andrew followed closely at his side. Another beat passed before a moment later, panic flitted across his face, skates angling inward.  Once more he lost his balance, skates slipping from under him. In a thoughtless motion, Andrew reached for his hand again to steady him, pulling him back.   
  
Unfortunately, the sudden panic with which Steven reached over for his friend in return, combined with the momentum of the tug, Steven flew directly into Andrew’s arms, toppling the both of them over.  
  
“--oof! Andrew exclaimed, landing on his side, Steven cushioned on top.  There was a pause before Andrew started chuckling, a deep crimson flushing the cheeks of his best friend before he started to laugh as well.  
  
“It’s not hard,” Andrew said as his chuckles began to taper down, “but it does take some practice.”  
  
As Steven got off of him and back on his feet, he nodded and asked, “Just exactly how long have you been skating anyway?”  
  
Andrew did the same, dusting the frost from his bottom and legs before turning his eyes back on Steven with a small smile.  
  
“I actually picked it up in high school.  My cousin was having a birthday party and rented out a local rink.  I had never skated before, but when I heard the music playing over the loudspeaker and everyone was just skating around, I felt an urge to just... Dance.  After falling on my ass a couple times being a goof on the ice, one of the parents suggested I take up figure skating. They might have been joking, but the statement kind of stuck with me. At the end of the party as I passed the front desk, I saw a flyer advertising for novice lessons.  Picking it up, I read through it maybe twice and decided ‘why not?’ and signed myself up.”  
  
The two began to skate easy laps around the rink as Andrew continued the story, Steven interjecting with questions every now and again.  
  
“Did you ever go into competition?”  
  
Andrew grinned, “Yeah.  I still remember how nervous I tended to get too.  I remember this one particular time when I kept messing up this one jump that was _super_ important, and honestly I was so worried I would make a fool of myself.   You know the locker I used towards the back earlier?” Steven nodded. “Yeah, that was my old locker from before.  I remember I got so upset one day that I just punched it really hard in frustration. Cracked the skin around my knuckles real bad.  However, just the next day I finally managed to land the jump consistently… Just in time for the competition too! Even Sarah was impressed…”  
  
Andrew trailed off, his bright smile falling.  Steven’s smile mirrored his, being replaced with concern.  There was a moment of quiet as the two just continued to skate before he asked, “Sarah?”  
  
Andrew shrugged, closing his eyes and gliding ahead a little, trying to clear the negative thoughts.  Eventually, he turned around once more, skating backwards lazily. Opening his eyes, he looked at Steven.  
  
“...My ex--The woman you saw today--That’s who she was.  She…” Andrew paused. Steven was looking at him with that same protective expression, a frown tugging the sides of his lips.  Steven cared about him. Andrew continued.  
  
“She had come by the rink with her friends because she wanted to see the skaters and I was just finishing up the final practice before my competition.  I was going over my step sequences and wanted to try the jump one last time. It was my cleanest landing yet and she had… She cheered louder than anyone had for me before.  I didn’t realize anyone was watching me, much less someone that I thought at the time was really pretty…”  
  
Steven just listened as he explained, quietly letting him talk.  Two skaters whizzed by as he continued, “After practice, she came and found me as I was leaving the locker room and she asked me out to coffee.  Since I was just finishing up, I agreed and we went to the local Starbucks--The same one from this morning where you saw her. We ended up talking all night.  She told me she was planning on going to college for science and technology and asked me about my hobbies. She told me that she thought I was really talented and could go far in skating.  I told her that I was thinking about going to school for videography and acting. Also that I really enjoyed cooking. We got along really well at first…”  
  
As he explained, it was as if the words were just falling out of his mouth. A damn broke and the whole story seemed to just escape.  
  
“...We dated for five years and everything seemed great.  We hung out every day. She would meet me after practice. When high school ended, we went to the same college and even had a couple classes together. I introduced her to my dorm mate Scott and the three of us became the best of friends…” The frown on Andrew’s face darkened, “Or so I thought anyway… I thought everything in my life was just perfect.”  
  
Steven listened quietly as the two continued to skate slow laps around the rink, his expression somber.  Andrew glided a small loop around him mindlessly before settling to his side, continuing the story, eyes forward and unfocused as if looking into the past.  
  
“Obviously, with my studies and homework taking up most of my spare time, skating kind of fell by the wayside once classes got busy. I ended up getting a part time job as well…” Andrew smiled sadly, “I had to quit my lessons... but I had this whole plan, you know?  I got the part time job so I could pay down my student loans, sure, but I was also putting money away for a ring,” he turned his gaze to his best friend, “I mean… I thought she was my forever, Steven... That she was ‘ _The One.’_ ’”  
  
Once more, Andrew focused inward, closing his eyes.  A couple more skaters passed by the two of them. Still, Steven said nothing, just listening.  Andrew carried on.  
  
“I started talking about what we would do after college; I was making plans. I never really stopped to notice the red flags along the way,” his voice turned bitter, opening his eyes as the frown on his lips deepened, “I suppose my first clue should have been when she said she wasn’t ready to move in with me afterwards.  I mean, she already spent quite a bit of time in our dorm room. It was as if she was already living with us, really. She was also Scott’s friend, so I didn’t think anything of it when I would get back from class or work to see her sitting on the couch with him, just watching TV. Sometimes her hair would be wet, but I never really cared if she used our shower.  Sometimes there would be leftovers in the fridge for her and she constantly borrowed sweaters and hoodies from both of us. We were a trio. So, yeah, it kind of struck me as a little odd when she said she wasn’t sure about moving in with me after we were finished school. But I was in love… And I thought she was too.”  
  
Steven, who had been silent the whole time listening, frowned.  His eyes once again had that protective glint to them, “I think I can see where this story is going…”  
  
Andrew nodded, but continued anyway, “Yeah… So I eventually got the ring.  It was just in time for New Years; right before Christmas. I sat Scott down the night I bought it and asked him to be my best man.  Told him that I planned to ask her at midnight when the ball dropped. He seemed… apprehensive about it. “Are you sure about this, dude?” he asked me, and that seemed like the strangest question.  Sarah and I had been dating since high school. Five years together. Of course I was sure… And that’s what I said too. Then he smiled at me. It was the strangest smile I had ever seen. “Okay then. I’ll be the best man.” he told me.  After that night, I didn’t really see him too much. I figured he was just spending the holidays with his family or whatever, but he stopped responding to my text messages and everything. Around the twenty fourth I called to wish him a Merry Christmas but he never picked up.  I texted it as well as left a message but never got a response back. Then came new years…”  
  
Andrew’s voice went hollow, his eyes feeling misty. He slowed to a stop as he closed them. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.   He turned his head to see Steven, a mix of concern and.. anger?  
  
“She didn’t want me anymore, Steven…” he whispered, his voice cracking as he closed his eyes again. A tear rolled down his cheek, “...I wasn’t good enough...”  
  
“You’re wrong.”   
  
His voice was quiet but sharp--contradictory; _matter-of-fact._   Andrew opened his eyes feeling a couple more tears track down his face.  There was a fire in Steven that Andrew rarely saw. His best friend repeated himself, “You’re wrong, Drew.  You _are_ good enough. You have no idea how good you are,”  The fire in his friends words warmed something in Andrew as he spoke, “You are worth more than that and she isn’t… She isn’t _worth it!_ ”  Steven turned away, looking up at the ceiling. Protective rage filled him as he went on a sudden tangent, “ _Anyone_ would be privileged to call you their boyfriend--hell, if it were _me,_ I would feel---” before suddenly trailing off.   
  
‘... _What?’_ _  
_ _  
_Steven’s words echoed about in his head.  The passion and conviction in his voice and across his face moments earlier were a contrast to the sudden bashful shyness that was written upon it now.  ‘ _There’s no way…’_  
  
The silence stretched as a deep crimson set in on his best friends face. That blush seemed to suggest otherwise.  
  
“...If it were you…?” Andrew tentatively asked.  
  
Steven remained quiet, not looking him in the eye.  The pause held until he finally spoke.   
  
“...If it were me, I would consider myself the luckiest man alive…” he whispered.     
  
Andrew’s mind chanted, _‘He feels the same…’_ over and over, _‘Steven likes me back...’_ _  
_ _  
_Suddenly he continued, his voice more steady, “...She…She has no idea what she gave up.  I’m sorry that she hurt you like that, Drew…”  
  
Andrew didn’t know what to say.  Opening his mouth to at least say _something_ , Steven pressed on before he could, slight panic coating his words, “...I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, heh.  I didn’t mean to make it weird between us. I want you to know though, I intend to keep our relationship professional and understand that you’re straight and don’t feel the same way and---”  
  
“--Steven.” Andrew’s voice was warm, a smile blooming, “..Slow down a second. You didn’t make anything weird between us.  I actually--”  
  
“Hey, you two!”  Adam said, skating up, “You’ve been standing still for a few minutes now.  Is everything ok?”  
  
Andrew looked over at Steven who said nothing.  Looking back at Adam, he nodded, “Yeah, just talking about when I used to skate.  I was showing Steven a few tricks and we kind of went off on a tangent.”  
  
With a laugh that seemed less than genuine, Steven nodded in agreement, “Yeah, nothing to worry about Adam.”  He then began to skate away. As Adam fell into a glide beside him, Andrew placed his hand on Steven’s shoulder, leaning in, “We’ll talk about this later, okay?” he said quietly.   As they held one anothers gaze, there was a pause. Steven nodded. The topic dropped.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the day went by in a haze.  The group had skated around for a little longer before grabbing lunch and talking more about the upcoming locations.  Steven had been all business and Andrew had wondered if he knew that he felt the same.  
  
He had wanted to tell him.  He was even about to, when Adam had approached.  At that point, the whole thing just seemed... too inappropriate.  That was a moment he wanted to share with Steven _alone_ and he tried to convey that as they skated off, but the echo of anxiety in the back of his brain screamed that Steven might not have gotten the message.  
  
As they entered their hotel room for the night, the man was quiet.  Andrew sat on the bed with a flop, turning the TV on for a little background noise as he collected his thoughts.   Steven went to sit on his own bed, fiddling with his phone.  The two stayed like that for what felt like an hour, but was probably only thirty minutes before Andrew finally spoke.  
  
“Steven…” he started.   Steven looked up from his cell.   There was a fear in his eyes as he waited.  Andrew continued, “... Earlier today…”  
  
The TV droned on, a pause in his words and Andrew took a deep breath before pressing on, “...I want to understand this correctly.  You like me, right?”  
  
At the question, Steven broke eye contact, looking over at the television, “Yeah… I do.”  
  
“...As more than a friend?”  he elaborated. He had to be sure.  Steven nodded once, eyes still on the TV.  ‘ _Here goes…’_  
  
“..What I was going to say, was that I actually feel the same way.”  
  
His heart was pounding in his chest, a ringing in his ears as he spoke the words that had been bouncing around his head since he first came to that realization.   Steven looked over at him, a picture of shock.  
  
“...But that woman--- _I thought you were straight?_ ” he said.  Andrew shook his head, “Well, you’re the first guy I’ve ever had a thing for but that doesn’t make my feelings any less valid.”    
  
Andrew chuckled as the shock on Steven’s face melted into something soft and warm.   Andrew continued, “The reason I didn’t say anything in front of Adam is because...” the smile on his face fell a little, “Look.  I don’t know how others are going to react to this information. I don’t think _Adam_ would judge us, but…”  
  
Steven continued the thought, a frown forming upon his lips as he understood where Andrew was going, “... we have the show to consider, and our professional relationship. The status quo...”  
  
Andrew’s eyes fell to his hands as he recalled his answer to the question Steven had asked the other day about Ryan and Shane.  There was just so much to take into account. He turned his gaze over to Steven. The man looked heartbroken. Andrew amended further, “...I’m not saying no.  I’m just saying we should think carefully before making any decisions right now. To be absolutely sure before going public with this if it’s… If I’m something you...”  
  
The words trailed off as Andrew looked back down at his hands.  Steven broke the silence, “No, you’re right. We should probably put a pin in this for now.”  
  
He sounded so sad, but when Andrew looked up again, he was smiling.   
  
“Netflix?”  
  
Andrew smiled back and shifted on the bed, “There’s too much room over here for just one person.  I chose last time, so it’s your pick.”  
  
The smile that followed was warm as Steven climbed off of his bed and made his way over.  As he tucked himself beside Andrew and reached for the remote, Andrew closed his eyes and let the days events replay in his head for the millionth time.  
  
Steven liked him back.   Sure, they had a lot to consider, but _Steven liked him back!_ Sarah was wrong.  As the movie started up, he put his arm around him and pulled him close.  
  
They would figure it out.  Maybe not tonight, but eventually.  For now, he was content to just live in the moment.   The rest would come after.  
  
  
****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading this chappy. I hope you won't hate me for the slow burn. Yes they both know. No, no kiss has happened yet. But SOON! I promise! <3 Thank you again for your patience. This fic is a joy to write.


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